


Freedom

by Huntz711



Category: One Piece
Genre: Eventual Happy Ending, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Nakamaship, Slavery
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-09
Updated: 2021-01-22
Packaged: 2021-03-02 19:20:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 23
Words: 102,246
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24091993
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Huntz711/pseuds/Huntz711
Summary: "Wanna be free with me?""Yes," he said, and he meant it more than anything he'd ever said.
Relationships: Monkey D. Luffy & Roronoa Zoro, Mugiwara Kaizoku | Strawhat Pirates & Roronoa Zoro
Comments: 329
Kudos: 325





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome! Enjoy my angsty mess!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! I've edited this chapter, and now it's longer!   
> This was originally intended to be a oneshot. It's changed now, though, because I decided to write more chapters! And, well. That meant some things here had to change. Anyways, if you're back here to read what's new, welcome back, and if you just started this, welcome! I hope you enjoy my project. :)

Zoro struggled in the chains the slavers had put him in. One was holding Wado,  _ his _ Wado, and he was pissed. He squirmed and kicked but these men were practiced at what they were doing. Strong, too strong for his nine-year old body to fight off, especially when he was still shaky from crying, from mourning his dead friend. Had she been a friend? He'd loved her like one, like a sister, despite their two-thousand and one fights. His two-thousand and one losses. 

He kicked his legs and flailed as one of the slavers laughed. "Strong one. Lanky… You'll grow up good~." 

"Fuck you! Put me down, I have to  _ work, _ I have to  _ train,  _ I made a promise!" He yelled, but there was quickly a wet cloth pressed to his face and further cursing and verbal abuse was muffled. His attempts at escape doubled and his eyes were wide, wild. His senses began to dull after a while, the world slowly going black.

He awoke in a cell, chained near several other unfortunate souls. There was a girl, couldn't be more than sixteen, crying and clutching her shoulders in the corner, chains rattling with each heaving sob she gave. There were some adults too, one who kept rattling at the bars and another, a woman, who held two children close. 

Outside, waves crashed against… something. The room rocked. They must be on a ship.

Before he even fully processed all of this he was struggling. His wrists and ankles were chained together and those chains disappeared under the floorboards. The cuffs were rough and sharp, definitely low quality metal. Still, as the minutes passed his pulling and yanking at them did nothing except rub his wrists raw. He could feel warm blood wetting the cold metal, but still he kept pulling. The chains couldn't hold forever. Determination tinged with desperation fueled him. 

It was a long time before anyone entered the cell, and when someone eventually came, Zoro recognized the man who'd first grabbed him. He roughly threw several more captives in with them and Zoro renewed his escape attempts as they were also restrained, his brow furrowed with frustration. It was to no avail, and his skin, which had scabbed over from before, began to bleed again. He ignored it, even when every little move his wrists made caused him to almost hiss in pain.

They were fed at seemingly random times, always either some rather moldy bread or a soup that Zoro could only get down if he held his breath. Every time he got food, he forced himself to eat it. To escape, he needed energy. He was in no position to turn anything down, and so he ate quickly and greedily, even as shame prickled his scalp at such behavior.

Finally, what Zoro guessed was a week into this voyage judging by the daily stomping around on the deck above the cell, the chain restraining his right hand snapped off of the cuff, and his arm was freed. He stared at it for a moment, smirking at this small victory and feeling his heart jump. His wrist was bloodied and cut open and raw. But the chain was gone. He only rested for a moment to savor his new feeling of hope, though, before he began to pull on the chain on the left side with renewed vigor. The chains could be broken. He could get away.

When they came to feed the captives or shove more unfortunate souls into the cell, which was now becoming crowded, Zoro hung the broken chain off the loop on the right cuff to avoid any suspicions. He didn't want them noticing his attempts.

Whenever they weren't there, he spent his time pulling on the left side chain, gritting his teeth against the pain it caused his wrist. He thought only of his escape, pushed away any images of Kuina that rose unbidden to his mind and made his eyes water.

The left cuff came off several days later, and Zoro promptly got to work on his ankles. His wrists, though both scabbed over, seemed to constantly be wet, seeping with something that wasn't blood. They were probably infected. He avoided touching them - he'd worry about them when he escaped. He tried not to despair at the idea that his body was deteriorating. He'd rebuild his strength. This was nothing.

Two more weeks passed before he managed to break the chains on his ankles. He was ready to escape. The next time that door opened and his captors forced more prisoners through, he was going to make his move. 

They came and fed the prisoners as normal, but it was a long, long time until any more victims appeared, longer than he'd spent working on the chains. When it finally happened, he tensed and waited for the right moment, holding his breath. He stilled his shaking hands and cursed how thin and weak his limbs had become.

He darted for the door as soon as the new arrivals were inside and his captors were distracted with shackling them. 

He stumbled and tripped a little, but even as his heart jumped in fear he didn't let it stop him as he sprinted down the hall, the way he'd always seen the men come from. Shouts and footsteps rang out behind him, so he ran faster, heart pounding against his chest. Adrenaline raced through him, deafening his surroundings and yet heightening his senses at the same time. They were close behind him.

There was a flight of stairs ahead, and he scrambled up them to find a hallway at the top. He didn't have time to think, so he ran down in the first direction he saw. The ship felt like a maze. At some point he ascended another staircase, though, and at the top of that he found himself blinded by sunlight - he'd reached the deck. Light meant freedom, and he found himself smiling at the thought despite his pursuers who he could feel gaining on him. Through the brightness he saw the sea, saw an island not far away. Somewhere to run to - hope. There was more shouting, more footsteps now that he was in broad daylight. Hands almost grabbed him, fingertips swiped across his back, unable to find purchase on his shirt. Unable to stop him. He ran for the side of the ship and threw himself over the railing. He could swim for the island if he was fast enough. He was free.

A hand grabbed him by the back of his shirt before he could escape the ship, and his hopes left him as fast as his breath did as he flailed midair. 

"NO! LET GO OF ME!" He managed to shout, but his flailing did nothing and he was thrown back onto the deck, hard.

His head spun from the impact and his ears rang. When he regained his senses someone had pulled him to kneel and was tying his wrists behind him. No.  _ No.  _ He wasn't going back. He wasn't. He shoved aside the dread constricting him. He wouldn't give up, he  _ wouldn't _ , he told himself, even as his eyes stung with unshed tears and desperation fueled his actions.

He yelled out and twisted violently in the hold, lashing out with his legs as soon as he could and kicking his assailant away. He wrenched his hands from the shocked man's hold and got his feet under him. His knees trembled but his adrenaline pushed him on.

Someone lunged to grab him and he threw himself out of the way and ran for the ship's railing again. Someone tackled him to the ground and slammed his head onto the deck. Zoro cried out in pain. Fuck, fuck. His attacker kneeled on the backs of his knees. Zoro's head was pounding, fear attempting to paralyze him even as he tried to jolt away. 

"God, he's fucking  _ feral _ . What is he,  _ nine?  _ The fuck's wrong with him?" Someone remarked while his arms were forcibly pulled back and tied behind him.

The weight on his legs disappeared, so he bent them under himself for leverage and wrenched free again. Someone struggled him onto his back and he felt hands try to restrain him.  _ No _ . He kicked out and his foot connected with what he had to assume was someone's crotch, judging by the scream. 

He lurched to his knees, then to his feet and then he started to run. Someone stopped him once more, grabbed his legs and stilled them before he could kick. 

"LET ME  _ GO,  _ YOU FUCK!!" he screamed.

Behind his shouting his breathing was ragged and frantic. Desperate. He held any tears that stung at his eyes back. He'd stay focused and composed. He'd get out.

"For God's sake, someone just knock him  _ out  _ already!" One of his captors yelled. 

Zoro renewed his attempts, writhing in the arms of the man holding him even as something hard and heavy cracked over his head, just barely leaving him conscious. 

His head throbbed. He felt dizzy. He kept yelling, but a hand covered his mouth and nose. He jerked his head and bit the hand, drawing blood. In turn, he was thrown to the ground and once again his head bashed against it. Someone threaded their hand into his hair and pulled his head up, only to slam it onto the ground. He continued to struggle, but was helpless as his enemy yanked him up again, jolting his body, which was now limp like a ragdoll. Hopelessness washed over him and his adrenaline gave way to terror. He continued to writhe like a trapped animal, panicking and grunting in pain with every thud his head made with the deck.

"Give it up already, brat!" Someone yelled as the abuse continued. 

Zoro heard it as if underwater. His cheeks were wet. His breath came in gasps and sobs. Why the hell was he crying?

He was pulled up again and cracked one eye open to see one of his captors glaring at him. With the last of his strength, he spat at the man and he saw his spittle, red with blood, drip down the bastard's face. The glare hardened and Zoro set his jaw, glaring and hoping, even in his muddled mind, that he didn't look pathetic.

Then, the blunt force of the deck slammed into his head again and he knew no more.

\- - -

When he awoke again, his head was pounding and he couldn't move. He immediately began to thrash in his bonds, but now his hands were cuffed directly together behind him. He couldn't separate them. His ankles were much the same. He was in that same room, now with much less freedom of movement. It hurt to breathe. He set his jaw and worked himself up to sit, feeling ridiculous with the way he had to wriggle his body to do so. He couldn't move. He couldn't even pull on the shackles. They only sent pain lancing up his limbs from his ruined wrists and ankles, making him queasy in his weakened state. 

After that they checked his shackles every day. Every day he made a point to curse at them, bite them, spit at them, anything he could manage with his limited mobility. He ignored how dizzy it made him to commit his little acts of rebellion. When they tired of them and gagged him, he resorted to headbutting them and glaring. This they ignored. It seemed useless to resist. They did not seem to care, but Zoro would not give up.

They fed him less than the others and at times they came in to do nothing more than kick and degrade him. Despite the pain it caused, he did not cry again. The tightness in his throat and the crushing helplessness came every time they beat him, but he pushed it away and glared at them. He understood that in their treatment they intended to break him. 

He wasn't going to give them that pleasure. 

\- - -

It was months before he learned of his destination and it was the day of their reaching it. The ship had filled up quite a bit with unfortunate souls like himself, and due to not being fed much he knew his strength was fading. His muscles and the body he 'd worked to maintain was ruined. He had the strength of a normal ten-year-old - he knew he must be ten by now. He still was not let out of the more restrictive chains on him through that whole time. Bruises and scrapes littered his body, and his clothes had been reduced to nothing more than rags. 

When they docked, he was ushered off the ship, one of his kidnappers holding a chain connected to his shackles. The shackles they'd placed his ankles in had a foot or so of chain between them. He could only manage a weak shuffle, especially with the state of his legs, which shook at even supporting him.

He ran anyways, making sure to do it suddenly so he could jerk the chain from the man's hands. He could only limp-run, but he did it as fast as he could, desperate for any chance at escape. 

They caught him easily and he lashed out at them. He wasn't gagged now, so he spat and bit and did everything he could think of to spite them. Even with their limited mobility, his legs flailed and kicked out at them. He wouldn't succumb.

They halted their moving the other captives to make an example of shoving his face into the dirt and kicking his head and torso. He saw, in little flashes when he managed to open his eyes, the way they looked at him. Pity. His cheeks burned despite his attempts not to care. He didn't want their pity. He was  _ strong _ .

When this ordeal was over, Zoro found himself more battered than normal and hardly able to walk as he and one other prisoner, a man who had acted much the same as he had during their transportation, were set aside from the others and forced in a different direction. 

The stone building they were led to was dark and dingy inside. The slavers he'd been caught by handed some money to a fat man with rotting teeth, black hair slicked back in a ponytail and body shoved into a sort of suit.

Zoro struggled and pulled at his bonds as he was led down cramped hallways that smelled of decay and fear and shoved into a shower room. There he was forcefully stripped, much to his rage and disgust. His struggling didn't stop, and he earned a few bruises for his troubles as someone roughly bound him and scrubbed the dirt off him. Eventually his erratic movements calmed. He was exhausted and his limbs felt too heavy to move. Until he realized that his hair was being cut and then fully shaved. Despite his hoarse yelling and weak struggling, though, his hair was fully shaved off and he ended up with several cuts from the razor where his writhing had jolted it. 

He was not allowed any clothes and was instead manhandled out from that room despite his flailing and failed attacks. They shoved him into a smaller, concrete room. It was really more of a box, just small enough so he couldn't lay stretched out in it. It was the size of a broom closet. They shoved him in and shut the door, and he was left alone in darkness and complete, deafening silence.

He threw himself against the door but it held fast. His limbs shook with exhaustion from his struggling. He didn't have the strength he had when he was free. Still, he kept trying, though it was to no avail. He yelled and slammed against the door until exhaustion made him stop and he ended up on the stone floor, panting and glaring into the oppressive darkness.

He was left in this perfect silence, perfect blackness. He had no idea how long it was but hunger and thirst began to gnaw at him and he lay curled up, hugging his chest and sometimes bringing his shaking hands up to feel the baldness on his head. He wondered what he looked like. How far removed he was from the boy he'd been. When he couldn't take that anymore, he slammed his body against the door, frustrated with how it didn't budge and with how weak his limbs were.

It was an eternity before that door opened. Zoro squinted in the light of the lanterns outside, managing a venomous glare at the figure overshadowing him. A moment's thought had him launching himself at the man and trying and failing to slip past him. This resulted in his being kicked back inside and the door slamming shut. The silence resumed, so Zoro threw himself against the exit until he collapsed in a trembling heap, hands gripping his head and lungs heaving as he tried to come to terms with his helplessness.

After another long while, he realized that he was wasting his energy. If he wanted to get away, he'd have to do it when the door opened. So, he laid down and let the hunger and thirst gnaw at him. He waited. The silence got worse. He whispered to himself just to hear  _ something _ , his voice cracked and quiet from lack of moisture. He longed for light, for the ability to run and jump, to chase his dream. 

The next time the door opened he again launched himself forwards, but this time he aimed between his visitor's legs. He stumbled out into the hallway, which was lit by lanterns. He began to run, but a hand stopped him, grabbed his shoulder hard, and yanked him back to the cell, where he was again left in silence. He glared where he knew the door was, panting heavily and trying to stop his shaking until his heart calmed down. 

Again, a long time passed, until any movement made his head spin with dehydration. He sat curled in the corner of the room, throat so dry he didn't think his voice would work. He felt sick but had nothing to throw up. 

The door opened, and he stared up at the figure in it, lacking strength to move even as he tried to force his limbs to. His knees remained drawn up, arms crossed around them in a vain attempt at decency. A cup was set just inside the room, and then the door was shut. Zoro stared at where he knew it was and carefully crawled to it, ignoring the way the world spun and his body wobbled. He felt for it, gentle so he wouldn't knock it over. In shaking hands he picked it up. Liquid. There was a liquid in the cup. He lifted it carefully, vaguely wondering if it was poisoned but knowing he would die if he didn't have it anyways. He smelled it. No scent. Could it be water? He lifted it to his lips and sipped at it. Water. It was cool and the way it felt sliding over his dry throat made him let out a small noise of contentment despite his situation. He held the cup with both hands and drank carefully, not letting any drip down his chin like he normally would. It wasn't long before he finished the small amount, and though he longed for more he knew that it had very likely just kept him from death. 

They continued to leave him alone in the dark. It was a long time before the door was opened and water was set inside again, long enough for Zoro to have been wishing for it. He still didn't know how long it'd been, only that hunger was tearing him apart inside and he had no strength for an escape attempt. He drank the water he was given greedily and that staved off his hunger a little, for a few minutes, but then it was back. The next time the door opened and the cup was set inside, he looked up at the man who set it there. 

"Food…" he tried, feeling pathetic. 

The guy smirked. He set the water down and shut the door anyways. Zoro wished he could demand food. Wished he could demand to be let out or fight the man. But his body was too weak for it now. He wondered if he could even manage to stand up, but he didn't have the will to try. 

Was this really all it took to break him? A few days in a dark room alone? 

The next time the door opened he looked up at the man, the same one as before. "Please… food…" the hunger was worse, now. He swore he would be ripped in two by it. It was evident in his naked body, which had lost quite a bit of weight. He was on his knees, hands down to cover his crotch, still wishing for decency, whether conscious or subconscious of it. 

The man again ignored him. The hunger got worse. He still drank greedily at the water. He couldn't think straight. He  _ needed _ to eat. It became the only thing he could think about, here in the dark, completely drowning out his will and his dream, the promise he'd made. He needed to  _ live _ . The next time the door opened he dragged himself to his visitor's feet, head down. 

"P-please, please, food…" he begged, thin body trembling and fingers digging weakly into the floor.

The man ignored him again. Zoro wished he could feel anger, hatred, but he was in no position to do so. He hated it. He hated himself.

"P-please, I need f-food… A-anything, anything… I don't care what…" he begged, desperate, when the door opened again. 

He was ignored. He was so pathetic.

When the door opened for the twelfth time, he begged once again, but the water was left and he was alone. 

Three more times the man brought him water. He begged every time, hunger and that door the only things in his life. The door slammed shut the fifteenth time, the force knocking the cup over. Zoro rushed to it, trembling as he tried to pick the cup up in time to save some of the water. He failed. He could feel the puddle of water on the floor. He lowered his head and drank off it. The floor was far from clean. But he  _ needed _ water. 

He found tears coming to his eyes. No. He wouldn't cry. He couldn't. But they came anyways, dripping down his cheeks and forcing loud, bitter sobs from his mouth. He wished more than anything to be back at the dojo. To be able to train. The hunger gnawed at him and the shards of his broken pride and spirit dug into him. He felt, more than he ever had, like a child.

The door opened again after another eternity. Zoro was unconscious from his weakness but it woke him and even in his half-awake state he begged. "F-food, please, please, I need food…" his voice was quiet and cracked. Weak. He pressed his head down into the ground and he could feel the man laugh. He felt his tears coming again. 

"And what would you do for food, moss-head?" The man asked. 

Zoro stopped. It didn't take long for an answer to form. "A-anything," he sobbed out, voice weak. He needed to survive.

\- - -

They fed him. It was disgusting, even worse than the slop he'd been given on the ship. But it was food, and he took it and ate desperately. They began to let him out of the cell, only to force him to his knees and make him crawl next to them as they walked. They collared him, and the cold metal round his neck was worse than any cuffs could ever be.

He took it. They fed him as a reward for listening. As his strength returned, so did the clarity of his thoughts. He knew in this state he couldn't get away. He needed to heal and get stronger. He couldn't be reduced to a starving, begging child again. To avoid that, he obeyed.

It felt like an eternity passed. The cell they kept him in began to feel more cramped. He must be growing. 

He did as they said, completed even the most shameful of tasks. He begged as they expected him to, followed them like a docile pet, planted kisses at their feet and took any abuse they dished out to him.

It was a long, long time before Zoro felt well enough to launch his escape. 

He knew where the exit was, now, and now he was being led past it. He stopped. The man leading him yanked the chain connected to his collar, but Zoro grabbed it and pulled back, sitting up on his knees and bracing his feet on the ground to stand. He managed to get the chain free from the man's hold. He ran for it, slamming himself into the front door. It was unlocked, and he squinted in the daylight from outside as he ran out, not stopping for a moment. 

He was still naked, but as he ran it wasn't a concern. He could deal with it later, when he lost his pursuer. There was grass here and when his eyes acclimated to the light he saw bubbles and huge trees. The grass underfoot was wet and sticky, he could feel it on his bare feet. He glanced up at the closest tree trunk as he ran by it and saw a large numeral three in black ink.

There was shouting, so he ran faster as he rounded the tree to get out of their sight. His feet pounded against the ground, until the grass suddenly broke through and his foot shot down into a hole, its process eased by whatever slippery substance covered the ground. 

His momentum carried him forward and he nearly cried out in pain as he dropped. He tried to pull his foot out, shaking so badly that he was too weak to grip at his own leg to pull it. 

He had barely a moment to try and breathe before a weight tackled him and a hand wrapped around his neck, pushing him down flat against the ground and twisting his ankle further. He cried out in pain and tried to squirm away. 

"LET ME  _ GO,  _ YOU FUCKS! YOU  _ WON'T _ BREAK ME!!" He screamed. 

\- - -

The escape attempt had been his first mistake in this new place. For it, they threw him back into that room and the darkness and the cold and the hunger returned until once more he couldn't move from his weakness. Beatings came daily, not that it surprised him, and they left him beaten and bloody and starving in his dark, silent cell. 

Oh, freedom. He longed for it, though now he didn't know what the hell he'd do with it, broken as he was. He had his dream, but… he'd been set back to zero. Past zero. He wondered if he could even lift a sword anymore. He felt like those children he used to see in his town, who cried at a scraped knee and complained and whined. 

He curled up, knowing that more nasty bruises would soon dot his naked body. One eye was swollen shut and his nose was bloody. His head was bleeding, having hit the ground several times. He was left there. 

The beatings continued. They  _ hurt _ . He didn't take pain well anymore. He didn't scream or react, though. At least, until they pulled out the whip. At the first bloody welt on his back Zoro struggled, screamed, begged for it to stop. 

Before, the hunger had been the worst part of being trapped like this. It was terrible and all-encompassing.

Now he knew better. Now his wrists were bound in front of him and he was tied so he was forced to kneel. He let out a piercing sob when the whip cracked against his bare back. 

Blood was already coating it, he could feel its cold wetness over the burning, searing pain. The welts would scar. He knew they would. His back had remained scarless up until now, but now this was shame. He was no swordsman. Could never be one. He remembered Koushiro's words: "Scars on the back are a swordsman's shame." 

He screamed again with the next crack. There was still the dull ache of hunger in his gut but this pain dwarfed it and filled him with shame. Even when he'd done their bidding he'd done it with rebellious intentions. Even when he was starving, he still had his honor. 

There was no honor here. His back was permanently disfigured. He was shameful. 

He sobbed and cried and begged for the whipping to stop. It didn't, not until he lay in a pool of blood, twitching and crying and staring at nothing, eyes blown wide. He could never be a swordsman.

Someone pulled him up by his hair in a brief reprieve from the whipping. He stared, eyes glassy. 

"Smile." He heard a familiar voice demand. 

When he did not move he felt the familiar stinging feeling of a slap. "Smile, and it'll be over soon."

Zoro smiled.

They finished with him, dealt a few kicks to further their point, and tossed his bloody body back into his cell, where he curled up and wished he could hide the shame on his back and be anywhere but here. 

He didn't know how much longer he stayed in that place. His days melded together, a haze of pain and shame with the rare lucid moment during which he cursed his situation and rebelled only to be ground back into nothing. 

A new expectation came in his expression. On top of the crawling and the heeling and the begging there was now the  _ smiling _ , which he often forgot. They reminded him, always with brute force and starving and whipping, until it became second nature to smile, even when they added more welts to his back and when they crammed him into that room, which felt smaller still now. 

He did as they expected, though, and he smiled. It seemed to please them.

One day the door opened and he was put on a leash. Obediently, he heeled as the man holding it reached a new, unfamiliar room. A pair of pants were shoved into his hands along with a shirt. At an order, he shakily put them on, confusion numbing him. He was then told to walk - not crawl - alongside his master to a door. Then they were outside.

He blinked rapidly, the light of the sun so much brighter than he'd experienced in a long time. He was momentarily stunned, eyes wide as he took in the world. Somewhere inside himself he was screaming that he should run, escape. But his legs only followed his master and tried to keep pace as they walked. A building came up ahead of them and he followed as he was led inside. 

Something in him cried out when the door shut behind them with a finality that filled the tiny, closed off part of him that was still Roronoa Zoro with dread. The rest of him smiled dumbly and stood still until ordered otherwise.

His collar was swapped out for a much thicker one. He was put into another cell, one with other people, some of whom were crying. He sat still like they told him and before long he was led out to a stage in front of many people. There were flashing lights. The situation was unfamiliar, but he was told to stand still so he did. The crowd before him was colorful and loud and moved too much, so he smiled and let his vision go blurry, let the sounds and sights blend into an incomprehensible mess that he was able to ignore.

"The last lot for today, folks! All the way from East Blue, this one is, and a real treat!" A voice began. East Blue. He remembered that.

"He doesn't look like much, but take my word for it - he develops muscles faster than any human I've ever seen! Good for heavy work or being a bodyguard, and obedient! And, he's been trained at our most well-respected facility over in Grove Three! He will not disappoint, and will serve you and happily die for you! At twelve years old, he's old enough to understand your orders but young enough to serve you a good long time!" 

Twelve… was he twelve?

"He's a human, so bidding would  _ normally _ start at five-hundred thousand beli, but since so much  _ work _ has been put into him, bidding starts at ten million!"

\- - -

Thirty million. The number stuck with him. The jumbled noises that he'd been ignoring to focus on smiling had given way to the shouted number from the crowd, and for a moment he'd felt horrible, paralyzing despair. 

He had been sold, he knew that much. He followed and money changed hands and his chain went into the hand of someone unfamiliar. A strange man in a weird suit. He kept that thought to himself. 

\- - -

They'd gone up a tall, red cliff. Zoro had never seen anything like it. Up and up they'd gone and the whole time his new master had held him and touched him and though he was smiling something in him was telling him to fight back. He didn't. He sat still. He wasn't meant to fight back. 

At the top of the cliff he was led to a new building. He was led inside by someone other than his master, and inside he soon found himself sweating. It was hot. Very hot. Hot enough that it made him light-headed. 

They pushed him to his knees and pulled his shirt off. Panic filled him as a sickening heat drew closer to his right shoulder. Fear took him and he began to squirm and cry out in terror. Rough hands held him still and the heat approached again. 

And then Zoro was screaming and there was a sizzling sound and he was writhing and jerking in the hold he'd been put in. Sobs forced their way out of his throat and his breathing quickened and went ragged. After a moment the pain paralyzed him and he cried breathlessly. The agony didn't go away. It remained on his shoulder, burning him. The smell of seared flesh filled the room and he found himself vomiting.

Finally, the cause of his pain pulled away, but the pain itself did not go. The hands let go of him and he curled up and screamed into his arms, voice hoarse. Tremors raced through him and he twitched, eyes wide and unseeing in the protective ball he formed on the floor. 

\- - -

His shoulder still hurt. It burned and ached when he moved it wrong, but his master had his leash and had ordered him to follow so he was, even though his legs wobbled. 

They entered a large house and once inside he was told to strip and change clothing, his new attire being a simple wrapping around his hips and upper legs. It did not cover much. That was fine. Zoro was used to nakedness. 

Once Zoro was wearing what the man wanted they proceeded into the house. Inside there were many women, dressed in silken robes. They were pretty, he decided, but they gave him pitying looks. He hated pity, he knew he did. But he smiled dumbly at them and ignored their looks as his master led him to a room with a four-poster bed and a great deal of fancy furniture. 

The noble's bedroom. Something about that left a bad taste in Zoro's mouth, but he smiled.

His leash was tied to a ring on the wall.

\- - -

There weren't really beatings here, he learned. What there was, though… he did not know whether it was better or worse. 

The first time he remained still and docile until the hands were touching where he never considered that anyone would. It was different from being whipped. He didn't know if it was worse. It felt  _ wrong _ , in a way that being beaten never had. His orders were to lie still. It became harder by the second. He wasn't harmed. It didn't hurt. But each touch had him shaking harder and the feeling of  _ wrong _ ness continued to grow until there was a sob caught in his throat and his weak little hands were pushing his master's away and his exposed body struggled out from under him as quickly as he could. 

"N-no," he managed, and his voice was so soft that he wondered if his master even heard. 

He didn't get far before he was pulled back. His master was talking, and all he heard was "Relax, boy, and you'll enjoy it too," and then he was panicking. 

Shaky hands pushed at the chest above him and achieved nothing. Zoro felt sick, felt terrified. He felt tears fill his eyes.

"N-no, no, no, no," 

Nothing stopped. He remained petrified under his master. 

It wasn't long before he knew this was worse than being whipped. 

When it was over he turned and vomited, curled into himself and sobbed in the corner of the room. 

It didn't stop there. It continued daily. 

The second time he struggled, albeit more weakly. 

The third and fourth times he only cried. 

After that the tears stopped too, and with them he let any illusion of his own worth go. 

It didn't matter what his master did to him. It only mattered that he was satisfied. 

Satisfying his master brought compliments. Compliments that, at first, he didn't know how to respond to. 

_ "Good boy, Moss-head." _

They made him feel sick. 

_ "That was perfect, my pet." _

But eventually, he learned to look forward to them. They were all he had, the only positive words he'd heard in years.

_ "Very good, little toy." _

He began to strive for them. 

_ "Oh, you are so beautiful when you smile like that." _

It wasn't hard. He took what was given to him and he smiled as he did. He was fed good food twice a day. He had a little mat to sleep on. He was never beaten or hurt. It was easy.

\- - -

Zoro was sixteen when that easy life ended. His body had changed into the broad chest and muscular build of a young man. His master became bored with him. Zoro would pleasure him, show his appreciation with his body, everything he could think of in search of the compliments he'd learned to rely on. But the man still seemed uninterested. 

It was a sunny day when he left his master's house, wearing clothes that covered most of his body for the first time in years. It was only a pair of pants and a simple shirt, but it felt wrong. He was uneasy. His place was in his master's bedroom. Out here was wrong. Everything felt wrong as he walked by his master toward their destination. There were many people, participating in some sort of celebration. Zoro was led to a man who sat on an ornate chair in the center of it all. He watched his leash switch hands. 

"Sit here, moss-head." He sounded indifferent, as if being in Zoro's presence was a bother, and it hurt. Still, Zoro got onto his knees next to the strange man and placed his hands in his lap. 

"Smile," his master said, and he stiffened at the realization that he wasn't smiling already. He forced the corners of his mouths up.

His master's hand tousled his hair and he heard a murmured "You were a good boy," and then he was disappearing into the crowd.

He did not return. Why? Why had he left? Zoro wasn't supposed to cry, but his master had left him. Why? Wasn't he good enough? Why had the man ceased to want him? His hands shook in his lap.

The man he was now kneeling beside paid him no mind. After the day was over, he was led on his hands and knees to a new house in which he was left in a room with other slaves. He curled up and trembled. He cried softly. He missed his master. Why had he left him? What had he done wrong?,

The other slaves gave him vaguely pitying looks but didn't bother him. He preferred it that way. He didn't want pity.

\- - -

For the next year, they had Zoro doing heavy work, carrying boxes and pulling carts. There was no praise as there had been before, but failure had meant beatings and beatings were a language he understood, so he obeyed without question. 

Sometimes he was underground in the dark, surrounded by other sweaty bodies as he joined in the mindless task of pushing, walking around and around in circles, going nowhere and still being punished for halting. During those times he strained and focused on pushing. He didn't think about his master. He didn't want to. He didn't understand.

In the dark he didn't have to smile. Every time he stopped, though, he heard his master's voice:  _ Smile, moss-head. _ And so he did. His body became used to the exhaustion and something in him was happy with the muscles that stood out on his arms and legs from all the pushing, pulling and carrying. It made the smiling easier so he chose not to question it.

Then he was pulled from simply working, and the same man he'd been given to so long ago appeared and ordered him to kneel on all fours so he did. 

His new master's weight climbed onto his back, shoes hitting his head. At the order, he crawled. His arms trembled from the effort but he moved forward, smile on his face faltering as the weight slowed his movements. He didn't let it stop him. His master seemed to enjoy it. Good. He was needed. That was what he was supposed to do for his master. He carried his master around, head down, uninterested in most of the holy land. He kept moving where he was directed until exhaustion began to overtake him and his limbs trembled with the effort.

His head was kicked- "yoo're too slow-eh!" and he felt shame rise up in him, which he told himself was because he'd failed his master. 

"Moove faster, yoo-eh!" The man on his back demanded. 

"Yes, master." Zoro's voice was soft. He kept a dumb smile on his face even as his limbs burned and strained to move. He sped up his pace. How could he fail another master? He wanted to be kept. He wanted to serve.

"Ooh, Yoo're a  _ much _ better human than that idiot from before-eh!" The man exclaimed. Zoro smiled and kept his eyes down. Crawling kept him wanted, kept him needed, so he'd crawl. 

Breathing became harder and harder and his limbs soon wanted to lock up, but he kept his little smile because he was going to make his master like him and he was going to make sure he wouldn't be left.

Hours later, he collapsed under his master, who stood and immediately began to yell at him and kick at his sore, exhausted body. Zoro took it, keeping his smile despite how hopeless and terrible he felt. "Sorry, I'm sorry, Master, my body is weak. Not good enough for you, not good enough…"

It wasn't long before his consciousness failed him, too. 

Of course he was punished for this. When he awoke he was bound and a whip was cracking against his bare back. He cried out in pain and his still-exhausted limbs strained against his bonds without his input. 

He passed in and out of consciousness, and the pain was always there to greet him when he awoke. It was constant.

Sometimes he'd dream, jumbled messes of swords clanging together, running bare-foot through grass and sand and ankle-deep water. The sound of the sea. Of freedom. He didn't understand it and when he awoke he was left confused and angry with himself for enjoying it, for enjoying the feeling of being his own master. Who would want him if he only obeyed himself? When he awoke from these dreams he always struggled more. His legs wanted to carry him away from here and he was grateful that struggling brought more pain. 

The dreams kept coming back, though, continued when they put him to work in the darkness again and when they pushed him further than his strength could take him. Still, he kept working until exhaustion took him every time, and little by little it became easier. 

Eventually, he was returned to his master. Stronger. By this time he was eighteen, and the man seemed happy to see him in a strange way. Zoro felt honored. When he saw him he immediately dropped into a deep bow. There was laughter, a few words tossed around over his head, and then he was once again carrying his master everywhere he was directed. 

The kicks to his head seemed to hurt less, now. It took longer for his limbs to start shaking in exhaustion. He was happy for that, happy he could serve to his master's liking. 

The dreams persisted, though, and every night in his mind he saw the sea. He felt drawn to it. In his dreams where Wado was strapped to his side and he felled any enemy that dared cross him, he could run limitlessly, freely. More than once he awoke with a start, heart beating fast and a cry of joy caught in his throat. He violently shoved the remaining feelings away. Those weren't what his master wanted. 

At eighteen and a half, he still served as his master's steed and his muscles had developed to be used to it. The days left him tired but not so much that he couldn't move. He was proud of his progress, even when the sharp kicks dealt to his head for seemingly no reason remained on his mind long after the pain disappeared. 

\- - -

He was nineteen when his master chose to bring him along to some island in East Blue. Something about the name of the sea made something in his chest tighten. They were lowered down the Red Line and he carried his master to a waiting ship.

The voyage took a week, and Zoro carried his master around the ship and waited on any need he had. He was happy to. When they got to their island destination, Zoro carried his master off the ship. It was warm, and there were many people there bowing to his master as they passed by. Zoro kept his smile, happy to be serving. He carried his master around the town, wherever he wanted to go. 

Throughout this, he felt eyes on him. On Mariejois there was never the staring. No one paid him any mind. But here in East Blue he could feel himself being watched, being judged. He did not let his smile falter but inside he felt ashamed. 

One evening, Zoro carried his master to a new building on the coast of the island, one which he was chained up outside and told to sit still. So sit he did, for several hours until the sun had gone down and people exited.

His master was sitting on the back of a new slave. One with a broader build and more muscles than Zoro. 

Chained as he was all Zoro could do was watch his master disappear into town, and he stared numbly after him for several hours. 

He did not sleep, simply sat on his knees in the grass outside the unfamiliar building, staring at the corner his master's procession had disappeared behind. 

When the sun came up in the morning he saw a ship sailing away. He recognized it as the ship he'd arrived on. 

He stared at it, smile wavering and then breaking. He leaned down, curling over his knees, which were numb at how long he'd held them folded under him. 

He grabbed at his hair and scrubbed at his eyes but tears were falling and he couldn't breathe. He began to sob loudly, chest shuddering and body jolting with his cries. He didn't understand. Why? Why was he left again? He had done all he had been asked, he had smiled through it so he'd be kept, and here he was again, alone and useless. His surroundings melted into a blur and he hunched over his knees and cried. 

He ended up laying in the grass, limp and without energy. Over the green blades he could see the blue sky and sea. He could hear waves hitting the shore. It calmed his shaky breathing and lulled him to sleep. 

He was left there all of that day but then the next night the auctioneer came and unchained him. In that next day's auction he was sold again. Sold to a man about his height but with three times his weight in fat. Zoro went with the man quietly and didn't struggle. He had no reason to. 

Immediately when he was brought into this new man's home, Zoro knew what the man wanted. A part of him, at first, reverted back to how he'd felt with his first master. He wanted to struggle and break free. Despite his new physical strength, there was no real force behind his struggling. It was fruitless. What would he do if he managed to scramble away? Where would he go? His masters didn't want him. He'd been left behind.

Zoro's arms got used to being chained up in the next few weeks, and he didn't take long to grow accustomed to the new expectations. It wasn't as if they required much action on his part. His job with his first master had been pleasure. His job with his second was transportation. 

Here, his job was to just… take it. And take it he did.

It was one night when they were in a little courtyard by the man's house, Zoro draped over a table and shared between two men, wrists and ankles bound, when there was a flash of red and a boom and a cloud of dust, and then there was a man walking out of it, unscathed, a worn straw hat that was still brighter than the sun atop his head. 

The men pulled away from him and he heard them stumbling away. His head was upside down off the side of the table, but now that the men were gone he had a clear view of the newcomer.

The newcomer took in the situation, a frown growing on his face when he saw the half-naked men and the battered Zoro tied to the table. The men stared in terror. Zoro stared as well and their eyes met. Fear froze him in place. Even from across the little yard he could see the way those eyes shone in the evening's light. They were dark and wild and he could see the strength behind them. They were like the sea. Like freedom. And they did not look gloss over him like the eyes of so many others did. They held his gaze and Zoro didn't feel permitted to look away, didn't  _ want _ to look away. 

The newcomer had taken an interest in him. His arm stretched, and Zoro's mind only stalled for a moment at that, because of  _ course  _ such a man would defy expectations. He heard his current owners yelling from behind the table, but now the stranger was right in front of him. His head was still upside down, but the stranger bent down to look him in the eyes again, much closer this time. 

"Wanna be free with me?" 

The question was so relaxed. But the boy's eyes were serious. Zoro's heart beat faster and he couldn't rip his gaze away. 

It took him a moment to realize the question was for him. 

This man wanted  _ Zoro _ ? It took him a moment to succeed in breathing properly. 

"Yes," he said, and he meant it more than anything he'd ever said. 

The boy smiled, and then Zoro was untied and an arm wrapped round and round Zoro's waist despite his nakedness and they were off into the air. And Zoro was horribly terrified and absolutely exhilarated.

And then they hit the deck of a ship hard and Zoro let out a cry but he wasn't really hurting. The other people on the ship rushed over and froze when they saw Zoro, bruised and naked, but Zoro didn't care. His eyes were locked with those of this boy.  _ The freest man in the world _ , he knew after a moment. Zoro smiled wide at him and it wasn't a smile he had to force. The boy smiled back.

He threw his head back and laughed, the most joyful and heartbroken sound he'd ever made, and tears filled his eyes and he launched himself at the boy and hugged him, arms searching for confirmation that this was real. That his presence was wanted. The hug was returned. Zoro wept and he felt  _ alive _ . 

"I'm Luffy." The boy said simply, his smile brighter than the sun even though Zoro couldn't see it. Zoro smiled wider than he ever had before, even as his shoulders hunched and jolted with his cries.

"Zoro," he sobbed in response. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Luffy is the best person ever ok. The end of that chapter is the best part.
> 
> (Future Hunt here! Hope y'all liked the changes!)


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have been convinced to continue this (it took very little convincing.) I hope it's alright! I really struggled with this but I think I got it to an okay point.

When Sanji had booted the idiot captain off the ship for trying to get into the kitchen like some kind of rabid dog, he'd expected the rubber dumbass to just come flying back, hopefully a little humbled. Perhaps riled up and excitable to the point where he'd have to send Usopp in to wrestle with him and get rid of some of that extra energy. Maybe a little angry, though unlikely. But what he was certainly not expecting was for his menace of a new captain to rocket onto the ship and crash land, arm looped around the waist of a naked, bruised and half-starving man. 

And he hadn't expected this man to laugh and launch himself at Luffy in a sloppy hug, either. He saw the way his hands kept desperately trying to find purchase on the boy's back as if he wasn't sure it was real, how his body trembled and jolted as loud, broken sobs were muffled by Luffy's shoulder. 

When the man had lunged, Sanji had been ready to protect his captain, but the hugging and crying and Luffy's lack of worry about the situation made him hesitate, and now he was sort of on the side, frowning as he noted the way the man's spine was visible in his back and how his ribs made bumps on his sides. He hadn't eaten well in a long time, Sanji could tell. There was also an old mark on the back of his shoulder, a circle and four triangles. A brand? The flesh certainly looked puckered like a burn scar. Sanji felt sick at that, and then at the way the newcomer clung to Luffy like he'd disappear if he let go, despite not knowing him.

"I'm Luffy!" Sanji blinked at that. Of course his captain hadn't even introduced himself yet.

"Zoro," the newcomer sobbed, shaky body tangled in his captain's.

"Join my crew?" Luffy asked, and Sanji nearly sighed but the way the man reacted to the question stopped him. 

Zoro held him tighter and his sobs got louder. He struggled to gulp down air as he nodded fast. Luffy grinned and pulled back from the hug. 

Sanji noticed how Zoro's eyes didn't meet his captain's, how his arms tensed and his hands searched for something to hold when the rubber man pulled away, but also noticed the smile on his face despite his tears. 

"Master…" Zoro whispered. If the situation hadn't been obvious before, it was now. 

A slave. He'd been a slave. 

Sanji and the other two onlookers glanced at each other.  _ God _ , that was fucked up. 

Luffy frowned and Sanji didn't miss the way Zoro's body locked up, the way his eyes went wide and desperate at the sight, the way his trembling doubled. 

"Captain." Luffy said after his face twisted in thought for a moment. 

"Captain…" Zoro repeated. His scared frown turned into a childlike, delighted smile. "Captain!!"

\- - -

Zoro's Captain (Captain, not Master! Something about that made him happy, and he'd repeated it over and over when he'd been told the alternative title) had a very exciting life. Zoro trailed him all around the ship, delighted that he was welcome to do so and honored that Captain liked him enough to let him. He'd been allowed to sleep on a hammock in the same room as his Captain (it was very comfortable, and he could keep an eye on him all night!) And they'd given him clothes, too. The clothes felt odd but they seemed to make Captain and his crew more at ease and comfortable around him, so he'd happily wear them. 

There was a storm, which was kind of scary but amazing due to the fact that he got to watch Captain run around the ship (and run around with him!) Securing ropes and making sure nothing came loose. His Captain laughed the whole time and Zoro's smile had been so easy to keep up! And he'd been complimented on his work, too! Captain had had him hold onto something that came up from the floor, apparently called a "whipstaff," and he'd been told he'd kept the whole ship steady and on track!

The best part, of course, was the gleeful "You're strong, Zoro!" That his sopping wet Captain had shouted out to him. Zoro couldn't keep the smile off his face! (Something else had resonated inside him at being called "strong" specifically, but it had been hidden under his other, more simple emotions.)

The other members of the crew (there were three of them) were friendly enough, but Zoro only originally decided he liked them because Captain did. The one he liked most so far was a man with a long nose and fluffy black hair. He seemed to make Captain very happy, and had no problem roping Zoro himself into their antics, which often came in the form of games. Zoro noticed that when he played, his captain was absolutely thrilled about it. So, he played any games they wanted and loved the attention they got him. He loved Long-Nose (Captain called him Usopp, but Zoro preferred the nickname in his head) for making those things possible. Also, in the evenings, he and Captain would sit close together and he'd tell stories. Zoro found he liked to listen to them (they reminded him, again, of his dreams on Mariejois and vaguely of some old aspirations he'd had once upon a time), and also loved them for the fact that Captain had no problems sitting right up next to Zoro and even leaning on him or laying across him and Long-Nose to listen to them. He was happy to share his body heat and the validation that came from the physical touch was something he didn't think he'd ever be able to live without. Long-Nose was great overall, though during that storm he hadn't been much of a help. Captain didn't seem worried about that, though, so Zoro wasn't, either. 

His second favorite in the crew, really not far behind Long-Nose, was the Cook (Captain called him Sanji). Cook was strong and a deep part of Zoro respected him for it, though he didn't understand why. If he liked his strength, though, he liked his cooking ten times as much. Not only because he felt so lucky to be able to have such wonderful food (he'd cried a little when he'd first tasted it, keeping his smile on his face despite it of course), but also because said food never failed to make the already joyful Captain even more delighted than usual. Cook gave them both a good deal of food and Zoro was encouraged to eat a lot, which he had no trouble doing. The only reason Cook wasn't better than Long-Nose was because Zoro had seen him kick Captain more than once. Captain had brushed it off and said that it was okay (though how he'd been able to tell Zoro had been bothered by it was a mystery), and Cook was just like that and he wasn't hurt and that it was his own fault for trying to get into the food, but it still left a bad taste in his mouth.

The last member, Zoro's least favorite, was the Witch (who Captain called Nami). He didn't like her much at all. Of course, Captain really did like her so there was at least that, but overall she angered him. She would yell at Captain, call him names, and even hit him (These hits seemed to actually hurt him, unlike Sanji's. Zoro had bodily shoved her away from Captain and glared daggers at her the first time it happened, livid, but Captain had put a hand on his shoulder and pulled him back. "Zoro shouldn't get so mad at Nami. This is just how she is." Captain had said, but Zoro still didn't like it despite how quick he was to apologize). The Witch didn't do much but order everyone around, and though Zoro listened when she gave him orders, he still found his smile harder to keep up when she told him or Captain (mostly Captain) what to do.

Overall, he loved his new home with Captain, despite his frustration with Witch. It was a few days of getting used to this new group of people before they saw another island, and Witch began to direct them there, to Captain's delight (and, because Captain was delighted, Zoro's delight).

Now, Zoro was frustrated and deeply worried, though. Captain had wanted to explore the island with Long-Nose, but they hadn't invited him. Instead, they'd told him to go with the Witch and Cook to get new clothes and belongings. He didn't want to. He didn't like the Witch. But Captain was adamant and Zoro had to listen, because he didn't want him to dislike him. He hoped that this parting didn't mean Captain no longer wanted him around. (He'd been enough, right? Helped Long-Nose repair the ship and helped Cook wash dishes and played Captain's games with him? His worry was getting worse with every second, especially when Captain and Long-Nose left the ship and disappeared into town.)

He obeyed Captain despite his doubts and followed the Cook and Witch off the ship, keeping his head down as he trailed behind them. They talked to each other and Zoro listened (for some reason Cook seemed to obsess over Witch. He didn't understand it) as they made their way through the port town. 

However, at one point he looked up and they were gone. He whirled around and his heart rate picked up. Had they left him? Had he been deemed useless to them? Had he angered them? Angered Captain? He began to breathe heavily, desperately whipping his head around and around to look for them. "C-cook?" He stammered, hoping his voice would be heard through the crowds of people in the streets. No luck. No Cook appeared. "Witch?" He tried. Even seeing her would be better than no one. His body stiffened and he didn't know what to do. He began to take slow steps in the direction he thought they'd gone, but the sounds of the groups of people around him began to become muffled and he felt dizzy. His lungs didn't seem to work, each breath taking more and more to fill them. He suddenly couldn't walk anymore, so he dropped into a squat, curling into his knees, hands over his ears and grasping at his face to try to calm down. 

He gasped for breath but wondered why he even bothered because they didn't need him,  _ they didn't need him, _ and if they didn't need him then he was useless. He didn't want to serve anyone but Captain. His body trembled and he kept trying to get air, his brain desperate to supply him with enough oxygen. He felt hot and overheated, and his loud breathing was the only sound there was. It began to get interrupted by sobbing and he scrubbed at his face, hands shaky and weak.  _ Weak, because that's what he was, wasn't it?  _ No one would want him. He couldn't do what anyone wanted. He was worthless.

At one of his sobs he fell back from his squat to sit, knees drawn up and held by trembling arms. How  _ stupid _ he'd been to think someone like Captain would want him, that he could be good enough. Captain didn't need him. He was already perfect. The world felt silent and dark but deafening and blinding at the same time. Zoro sobbed and breathing was becoming too hard. All he managed were pathetic little noises and short gasps every few seconds. His head hurt and his cheeks were wet. Alone. He was alone again, and the receding backs of his first two masters mocked him in his head,  _ did you really think it'd be different this time? _

He didn't know how long he remained there, trembling and sobbing, unresponsive to any kind bystander who happened to try and speak with him. He didn't even register them.

Then, suddenly, someone was in front of him and there were strong hands gripping his shoulders. "Oi, Marimo. Marimo, you there? Oi, it's me." 

Zoro's eyes opened and went wide and then his arms shot forward and he clung to Cook, still struggling to breathe. "COOK!" he sobbed.

Cook held him close, arms returning the embrace. They hadn't left him? They hadn't left him. He needed to stop crying. "Marimo, you can't wander off like that, we didn't know where you were. Keep your head up when you walk." He said softly. Zoro nodded. He would. Would that make Cook happy? He liked Cook a lot. 

"I'm sorry, Cook, I'm sorry…" he whispered, voice shaky. He cursed it. No one wanted to hear that. They were nice enough to keep him after he got lost. 

The Witch was soon there, too. "Idiot!" She snapped at him, but didn't admonish him further. 

Zoro, having managed to force himself to calm down and smile again (they wouldn't want to see his tears. No one liked that) was surprised when Witch's arms gently looped around him in a hug. He didn't react, but inside he wondered why she'd do that. 

She and Cook soon pulled away. They both looked at Zoro, who avoided eye contact. He was smiling, again. They shouldn't have to think about his feelings.

They seemed a little upset for a moment and Zoro's heart jumped in fear, but then they were both gently smiling back. "You okay, Marimo?" Cook asked. Zoro slowly nodded, keeping his eyes away from Cook's.

Cook helped him stand up and Zoro forced his legs to stop shaking. Cook's hand found his. "Hold on so we don't lose you again." The man said. Zoro nodded, clinging to the hand.

"You really scared us… watch what's going on around you." Witch said. Zoro nodded again, smiling. He could do that. He wouldn't fail them again. Ever again.

Now, as they walked, Cook kept a good hold on his hand. "Head up, Marimo," he kept muttering to him. Zoro found it odd to walk with his head up but he didn't mind doing it if it made Cook happy. He liked the man a lot more now. Cook wanted him, had looked for him. It was more than anyone save Captain had ever done for him.

As they walked, he held Cook's hand tight and kept glancing at him and Witch to make sure they were still there. They seemed as if they'd gotten over his outburst, and he was glad for it. (He missed the whispered words they shared with each other, the way they kept glancing at him, concern in their eyes.)

Something caught Zoro's eye and he slowed just a little. Cook noticed, stopping. "What is it, Marimo?" He asked. Witch stopped, too.

Zoro shook his head, but it was too late, the blond's eyes had followed his to the shop he'd been staring at. It was a sword shop, a large katana painted on its sign. The katana had drawn Zoro's attention. 

"Want to go in?" Cook asked. Zoro tensed. He shouldn't lie. He glanced at Cook, meeting his eyes for just a moment and looking down. He saw no annoyance in them in the brief glance, to his relief. The Witch was watching him, too, but he wasn't going to worry about her. He cared more what the Cook thought.

He very slowly nodded, cringing a little at the action, but it seemed okay because Cook simply changed course at a nod from the Witch. They went into the shop. 

It was a small place, but there were a good deal of swords in there in all shapes and sizes. Zoro was drawn to the barrels full of katanas, and before Cook even greeted the shop owner, who'd excitedly run to them upon their entering, Zoro had made his way instinctually to them, hardly hearing Cook's surprised noise when Zoro's hand slipped out of his own. Zoro would hate himself for the actions later, but right now some deep urge was forcing his actions. He couldn't disobey that.

A white hilt caught his eye in the barrel. That. Zoro needed that.  _ Wado. _ His mind repeated the word. He couldn't leave this place without it. 

Cook had quickly followed him but Zoro didn't look at him. He unsheathed the sword and looked at it. Just as he remembered it. 

"My Wado…" he murmured, not really thinking about it

"What?" Cook asked. Zoro jumped. 

"Ah! That sword! That's a great sword, I tell you, It's-"

The man kept blabbering, but Zoro stopped listening quickly. A strange feeling came over him. His jaw set and his smile dropped and he could feel the Cook's and the Witch's attention on him. The shop owner stopped talking. "I want this sword." Zoro said evenly, voice confident, making eye contact with the Cook, whose visible eye went a little wide.

Witch nodded when Cook didn't. "Alright." 

Zoro suddenly liked her more. He was unwilling to let go of the sword again, so they asked the man for the price. Zoro simply looked down at it, taking in its details again for the first time in a decade as the Witch argued with the man for a good ten minutes. All that mattered to Zoro, though, was that they left with the sword. And they did. It felt… wonderful, hanging from Zoro's hip. He needed to learn to use it. Captain was a pirate. Zoro wanted to help him fight.  _ "You're strong, Zoro!" _ He heard in his head. He would get stronger for Captain. Would make sure he was useful for him.

He smiled wide at the Cook and Witch and thanked them profusely. They both smiled (had it made them happy, too?) As they led him out of the shop and into another, where they had him trying on clothes. The Witch again argued with the store owner but Zoro ignored her in favor of marvelling at the stuff that they were getting,  _ for him _ . Because they wanted him? He loved the idea. His smile stayed plastered to his face despite odd looks from the other people in the store. 

Zoro now had four shirts, two pairs of pants, three pairs of boxers, a jacket and a coat and a pair of comfortable boots. He was wearing them now, delighted to display what Cook and Witch had gotten for him. They seemed happy that he was happy, and that made him happier still. Even with what had happened just a few hours beforehand, he felt amazing.

He followed quietly as Cook and Witch went to a sort of market and bought a lot of food. There were many fruits and vegetables Zoro didn't recognize. He watched Cook get excited over them, and was surprised at the fond smiles Witch kept giving, though they disappeared once Cook looked at her. She was so strange. 

He helped them carry the food back to the ship in many bags, smiling all the while (he hoped to make up for his crying) and smiled wide when he saw Captain on the ship. 

"Zoro!" The boy called, voice joyful. 

Zoro's heart leapt. "Captain!!" He rushed to follow Cook onto the ship.

"A sword!? You got a sword!! Cool!!" Captain grinned, eyes on the katana. Zoro nodded fast. Long-Nose also seemed interested in the blade. Zoro was happy and relieved that he wouldn't be in any trouble for making Cook and Witch buy it (he'd begun to regret it more and more throughout the day, hating himself despite the smile he'd kept on his face and the deep feeling of  _ correct-ness  _ that came with the weight on his hip). 

He didn't know what he'd done to deserve such people. But he wouldn't let them down.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, yeah, there's that! Sorry if the random bit from Sanji's point of view was awkward. I finished the part with Zoro and then scrolled back up and realized that was still there and that I really liked it, so even though it doesn't fit the best I felt I had to put it in. 
> 
> I had to give Zoro Wado. He's fated to end up with it in any universe, I think. 
> 
> Anyway, uh, suggestions, ideas, criticism, anything is welcome! I love comments!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, uhh, this is long as fuck. 5,000 something words. I didn't realize how long it got. I kinda just went wherever it took me.   
> Again, apologies for typos. This isn't beta read and I do read through what I write but I can't catch everything!

After the events in town that day, Sanji noticed that Zoro liked to stick around him almost as much as he did Luffy. Nami said they were two weeks out from Loguetown and that there were a few more islands they could stop at on the way. They had a lot of free time, since the sea was calm and there were few enemies. Luffy spent much of his time bothering Sanji for food, playing any number of childish games with Usopp and Zoro, and sitting quietly on the ship's figurehead. When Luffy was on the figurehead, Zoro either sat at the base of it, leaning on it with his eyes closed and that forced smile still on his face, or joined Sanji in the kitchen to help him with whatever needed done. Sanji was not surprised at how well he listened to directions, and he wished that the trait was for different reasons, because he really appreciated it. It was a quiet day, today. Luffy had been very pensive. 

Sanji knew Zoro became anxious when he spent too long without feeling useful, and as much as he disliked it, he often had something for the man to do, and he wouldn't deny him work. If he didn't have anything that needed done, he would simply make tea and they would sit in the galley or on the deck together and drink it. Over a week, he learned that the man was good at listening to anything he had to say, and though he didn't react much, it was always clear he was paying attention. Sanji ended up filling their comfortable silence, telling Zoro a lot of things about the Baratie (he wouldn't admit it, but he was homesick). Most of his stories were of Zeff. Zoro seemed to genuinely enjoy listening, and didn't get annoyed with Sanji's talking, so Sanji would talk and talk while he cooked, relaxed as he switched from topic to topic. He was no storyteller, and his narratives were often disjointed but Zoro didn't seem to care. 

Sanji began to notice that when he mentioned the times Zeff trained him to fight, Zoro's eyes glinted with more interest than the other stories. The man's mouth didn't change from that mindless smile, but his eyes did subtly change with his mood, and the longer Sanji was around him, the more he noticed. 

One day, five days out from the island where they'd gotten Zoro the sword, Sanji decided to ask something that had been on his mind while they sat together at the table sipping tea.

"You want to get stronger?" 

Zoro's eyes immediately went from dull and vaguely interested to sharp and curious, despite his smile remaining how it was. He nodded, and Sanji really wished he'd make eye contact, but with his question answered he didn't dwell on it. 

"I can help you train," he offered. 

Zoro's eyes changed just a little, surprised. He slowly nodded again. 

So, Sanji began setting time aside every day to help Zoro get better with his swords. He was no swordsman (what he'd been forced into on Germa didn't count), but luckily Zoro seemed very adept at figuring out what to do on his own. Sanji didn't let him use his new sword yet, instead having him use a makeshift practice sword they fashioned from a plank. Sanji would aim kicks at Zoro and Zoro would block them. It was simple, but Sanji soon noticed that every day he could kick faster and faster and Zoro's sword would be there to stop his leg. It took some coaxing, after a few days of having him simply defend himself during their sessions, to get Zoro to go on the offensive, but when he did, despite some of the sloppiness of his movements, Sanji found that it was actually somewhat of a challenge for him, too. Zoro seemed to have held a sword before. He was comfortable around it and his movements weren't immature, just awkward, Sanji might call them rusty. But they were improving every day. 

They were three days out from Loguetown when he began to notice the way Zoro smirked when he was able to catch Sanji off guard, and the little, frustrated grunts he made, the soft, angry exclamations of "Cook!" He'd mutter as they sparred. 

Sometimes his smile dropped when he was particularly concentrated. Zoro's serious face was kind of intimidating. Sanji wished he would always wear it, though. It suited him so much more than that constant, dull smile.

Those smirks and exclamations, however rare, were progress. Sanji was proud, proud of himself and proud of Zoro. He told him so when Loguetown was on the horizon and both of them stood, panting from their sparring, staring at the dark blotch it made against the sky. 

"I'm proud of you, Zoro. You got a lot better."

There was no verbal response, so Sanji looked at him. The biggest smile was plastered on Zoro's face. Not his mindless one, nor the desperate smile he'd worn the first day he'd come to them and the day Sanji had found him in the street. It was one he'd seen when Luffy complimented Zoro. A big, dorky smile that radiated almost as much joy as their rubber captain's grin did. 

"Cook!" Zoro said softly, smile reaching his eyes and immediately becoming Sanji's new favorite expression on him. 

Sanji smiled back. Then, his eyes went back to the blotch on the horizon, as much as he'd rather look at Zoro's grin. 

  
  


\- - -

When they sailed away from the island Zoro had shown a little of his true self on, Nami noticed how he seemed to love being with any crew member other than herself. He still trailed Luffy around like a puppy when he wasn't playing with him and Usopp. He would joyfully call out "Captain!" whenever he saw him for the first time in a day. He listened intently to Usopp's stories both at the dinner table and elsewhere, and she didn't miss the way his eyes looked almost crestfallen when said stories ended. She also noticed how he began to stick around Sanji more, too, helping him anywhere possible. 

She would wonder why it was he disliked her if she didn't already know. It was due to her treatment of Luffy. But she really didn't know any other way to deal with the rubber dumbass. He'd wreck the ship in two hours flat without her guidance, and her guidance only got through his thick skull when she beat it in there. 

Luffy didn't seem to mind, but it was no surprise that Zoro did. However, Nami slowly began to notice bits of things about him.

She noticed him staring at her several times. Once when Sanji was animatedly narrating his plans for dinner to her as he worked and she found a fond smile on her face, once when Luffy threw an arm around her as he laughed after something she said and she found another small smile on her face, and once when one of Usopp's slingshot stars exploded in his face, splattering tabasco all over him, and her fond smile became exasperated and amused. Whenever she smiled because of one of her Nakama, Zoro's eyes seemed to be on her. And whenever she hit Luffy they were on her, judgemental this time. 

His smile never changed, but she began to be able to read his eyes, read when he was disappointed in her or when he was deep in thought. He wasn't expressive at all and nothing had changed from before, she was just able read his eyes, now. 

On the third day into their voyage towards Loguetown, Luffy was silently laying on the Merry's figurehead and Usopp was tinkering with his ammunition for his slingshot. Nami, from her place where she was sunning herself on her deck chair, heard the galley door open. There was silence, and then footsteps sounded across the deck, towards her. She opened her eyes in surprise when Zoro sat next to her chair, back against the railings. He glanced at her, eyes not really giving much away before he closed them and his body relaxed. She stared at him for a moment, but then went back to her relaxing. She didn't mind his presence one bit. 

She continued to be surprised when during lulls in the action on deck, Zoro came and sat next to her almost every day, and once he even came over while Luffy and Usopp were roughhousing, when normally he'd join them. She began to offer him little smiles when he joined her, and at seeing those his mindless smile became more real and his eyes softened. Was there affection there? She couldn't tell. 

Otherwise, he acted the same towards her, but she really did enjoy the quiet companionship when he sat with her. 

One day he exited the galley - by now she knew what his boots sounded like on the deck - and she assumed he'd come and sit with her, but instead, Luffy's voice rang out from the figurehead, and she heard him move a good deal. Then he yelped and there was a splash. 

"Captain!" She heard Zoro yell, and his boots stomped against the deck as he ran, and then there was another splash and by now she was sitting up and standing, and running to the railing. Her vision took a second to adjust, she should have drank more water today, but then she saw Zoro in the water, flailing, a limp Luffy clinging to him. She stared. Could Zoro even swim? They both began to sink and her question was answered. Usopp and Sanji were running to where she stood, having heard the commotion, but she was closest and her heart was beating fast and adrenaline was starting to pump through her, so she jumped in after them both. 

It took quite a bit of strength to haul them both to the side of the ship and back up to the deck, but Nami was strong. Stronger than she often gave herself credit for. She panted, sopping wet, as she dropped the two men to the wooden deck. She aimed a kick at Luffy, who had already recovered from his shock and was laughing hard. 

"You idiot! Don't worry me like that!" She hissed. 

Luffy, of course, ignored her anger. "Thank you, Nami!!" He giggled, splayed out and staring at the sky. 

She turned her glare to Zoro. "And you! Don't you go jumping in after him if you can't swim! Idiot! I don't want to lose your ass after we just recruited you!"

She realized she probably shouldn't yell at Zoro like that a little too late, and she quickly shut herself up. Zoro was staring at her, eyes wide, unnerving smile wavering but still present. His eyes didn't give much of a reaction, though. He didn't seem too afraid of her or upset by what she'd said. 

"Thank you, Witch…" he said softly. 

The deck was quiet. She stared at him and noticed he was looking her in the eyes. Then, he looked down again, but she wondered what had changed that her words hadn't hurt him. 

She then remembered how he'd seen her smiling at her other crewmates. She wondered if he knew her better than she thought. 

After that incident, the next island was in sight. When they'd dropped anchor in its harbor, she took Zoro by the hand to the beach, letting the others handle the restocking and other shenanigans they always got up to when they landed on islands. Zoro glanced at Luffy as they left but when he grinned and nodded the man seemed to have no issues splitting off from him to go with Nami. She was glad for that. She took a slight detour to buy him a bathing suit, and then they were at the beach. The ocean was calm. 

"Zoro, I'm gonna teach you to swim." She said. 

Zoro's eyes lit up at that. She smiled. She'd thought he'd be interested. 

He caught on fast and didn't tire easily, so she spent several hours at the beach with him, correcting the awkward movements he made and helping him to manage a weak half-doggy paddle. He seemed frustrated when he couldn't swim as easily as she could, but she encouraged him. He really was doing better than she'd expected. 

They left the beach in the evening, and, upon Luffy's announcement that he liked this island, they decided to stay another day. Zoro had been eager to go back out and keep learning to swim. Nami knew why, knew that Zoro wanted to be able to protect Luffy and the rest of them no matter what, and if Luffy couldn't swim, Zoro would do the best he could for him. 

"You're a fast learner, Zoro." She told him while they took a break, sitting under a palm tree in the sand. 

She didn't miss the way he absolutely glowed under the compliment. She knew he was far from alright, but his genuine excitement and happiness were encouraging, already so different from the man who had clung to Luffy a mere week ago. 

  
  


\- - -

Usopp was sure the newcomer didn't like him. He clung to Luffy and was present for his stories, but his constant smile never changed and Usopp was sure he didn't listen. There was pity sitting like a rock in his stomach for this man who didn't seem to find joy in anything, who saw Luffy as a master to be obeyed and nothing more. 

Because that wasn't what Luffy was. Luffy was so much more, so much better, and the way Zoro mutely followed him and did what he wanted hurt him. 

Luffy didn't seem so concerned, though. Usopp wondered whether he should confront him about that. About how Zoro's participation in their games was obviously only because Luffy expected it, and how he obviously needed some kind of push to act like a normal person.

When Zoro returned from the port town with a sword and seemingly genuine excitement about it, Usopp was surprised. Things remained quite the same after that, though. 

Zoro's meaningless smile remained and he showed no emotion. It was like he was a husk of a man who relied entirely on Luffy (and sometimes Sanji, now) for a will to live. It made Usopp feel sick to himself, and the empty smile sent shivers down his spine whenever he saw it. One day, when Zoro was in the galley with the cook, he approached Luffy. 

"Uh, Luffy?" 

Luffy, who was sitting on the Merry's figurehead, laid back and put his head down, stretched along the curve of Merry's neck so that he was looking at Usopp upside down, hand holding his hat on his head and eyes inquisitive. "Yeah?" He asked. 

"Well, uh… Zoro. He's… weird, y'know?"

Luffy stared for a moment and Usopp got the sinking feeling Luffy didn't even know, but then he smiled. "Oh, yeah, I know!"

"Well… he's… I think… we should push him or something… he's… so weird and empty."

Luffy's eyes turned questioning at that. "Zoro's not empty."

"He is, though… that… that  _ smile _ …"

"Oh." Luffy said. "Well, Zoro will stop smiling when Zoro wants to stop smiling. He already changed a lot."

"What? He's the same, Luffy. He still follows you around like you're his master, and…" Usopp didn't like that Luffy couldn't see that. 

"He does. But Zoro's gonna do it Zoro's way."

"But he hasn't been  _ doing _ anything. He just deals with the rest of us because he wants you to be happy."

"What do you mean? Zoro likes all of you!" Luffy grinned. It was then that Sanji called them in for lunch, and the rubber man shot away from the figurehead and to the dining room faster than Usopp even comprehended the words. 

Usopp frowned. Luffy really couldn't see it, could he?

That night, however, they missed their storytelling because Luffy caught a large fish and after they ate, he fell asleep, rubber belly full. Usopp saw no need in telling stories that night, but when they were in their hammocks to sleep, he felt eyes on him and turned to see Zoro's eyes, looking at him, filled with longing. That unnerving smile was still there. But Zoro looked almost sad. He avoided Usopp's eyes as soon as he noticed he was looking, but that had surprised him. Maybe the guy really did like his stories. 

The next night he made it a point to watch Zoro's face. He seemed to actually enjoy Luffy's contact for other reasons than that Liffy liked it deep down, and his smile became much less dull and forced when Usopp began to tell them about the time he and his 8,000 man pirate crew were caught in a tsunami, and had to defeat and sufficiently humble a sea king to pull their ship to safety.

He saw the way Zoro's smile looked…  _ normal _ . Luffy noticed him looking, and, after the story, he grinned at him. 

Usopp wondered how his captain could be so observant, yet seem so oblivious.

Usopp noticed Zoro liked Luffy's physical contact. So, he made an attempt to see what would happen if the contact came from him. He and Luffy roped Zoro into fishing a few days later, and Usopp gave him a hearty side-hug when he caught a nice-sized fish. Zoro had leaned into it and laughed, and the warmth of his skin almost surprised Usopp. 

It was a reminder that Zoro was still a living, breathing, person. Someone who could recover and was recovering. 

His pity remained, but some of it became respect. The man hadn't fully given up after all of this. 

Now, during stories, Usopp sat right up against Zoro like he would Luffy, comfortable with the extra warmth. Zoro seemed very happy about it and smiled with a soft, delighted "Long-nose!" the first time. 

After his story one night, a night after one of Zoro's harder training sessions with Sanji, Usopp found Zoro asleep, head in his lap, Luffy over his chest. Usopp simply shimmied himself to lie down and slept in a heap with them on the floor.

On rare occasions, Zoro would come and sit by Usopp while he worked on new weapons or gadgets. Usopp liked the quiet company.

The smile didn't unnerve him so much anymore, now that he could see what was behind it. 

  
  


\- - -

Luffy was delighted that Zoro was getting along with his other crew members. When he'd left Luffy's side to go and see Sanji, Luffy had felt his heart leap. When he glanced from his spot on the Merry's figurehead to see him sharing tea with the cook, Sanji talking quietly and animatedly to him, he'd had a hard time keeping the smile off his face. The sparring, once it began, didn't surprise him at all, and Zoro just looked so  _ right  _ holding a sword like that. 

When he'd awoken, tangled in a mess of limbs with Zoro and Usopp, he'd smiled wide as well. He'd been sure of his words when he talked to Usopp, and was ecstatic that his friend now understood. He caught Usopp telling Zoro stories absently, without any others present, several times. 

Upon glancing back from his spot on Merry's head one afternoon and seeing Zoro half-asleep, leaning on the railing next to Nami, his heart soared and his cheeks almost began to hurt from grinning, his chest hurting with how much he wanted to giggle to himself in his delight. When Nami took him to learn to swim, Luffy loved how little it took to get him to go with her, and loved even more how eager he'd been to keep learning to swim. 

Of course, he still spent his own time with Zoro. He could  _ feel _ the man becoming more comfortable around them and with himself. And he was beginning to get more and more glimpses of who Zoro was. A strong man, someone who wouldn't back down from a challenge. Someone who valued freedom, just like Luffy himself. Someone with a sense of humor and a quiet understanding of others (he'd seen it in the way Zoro's eyes watched Nami).

He'd known it would be alright. Zoro would make his progress, albeit slowly. They didn't have to push him. Luffy knew he had a mystery miracle crew. Zoro wasn't free, yet, but Luffy had seen strength in him when he'd found him. And it would pull through. He'd help this man find his dream yet. 

  
  


\- - -

The longer Zoro spent with these people, the more he felt accepted, needed. Captain was the most wonderful person in the world, he was convinced, and the rest of the crew was not far behind. Cook talked to him for hours and Zoro was happy to listen. He quickly learned that that was all the man expected of him when he spoke, and he was quite comfortable with it, now. When they'd begun training, a sense of rightness came over Zoro and he knew he wouldn't willingly give it up. 

When Zoro attacked Cook with his swords as part of their training (that had felt so wrong to fo at first), something about Cook changed and there was concentration and passion the likes of which Zoro had never seen (He had, but he didn't remember it well). Cook seemed to enjoy their spars. Zoro loved giving him that feeling (and getting it himself. He loved the sparring. Loved getting stronger. He'd noticed recently that with his time on the ship his muscles had begun to take shape. He could challenge Cook more every day. Stronger. He loved that. 

When Cook had said he was proud of him… Zoro's whole body had stiffened and then felt tingly in the best way possible. He'd barely been able to contain his joy. Cook liked him. Wanted him.

Zoro loved Cook.

-

When Long-Nose had skipped a night of stories, Zoro had missed it dearly. He'd missed the contact with Captain, the sound and meaning of Long-Nose's words, and the feeling he got from the stories, the same feeling Captain gave him. Freedom. The night without Long-Nose's storytelling had left him feeling… not good. He kept his smile despite this. 

The next night, though, Long-Nose told stories again and Zoro savored them. His smile was relaxed and he slept better afterwards, too. 

He also noticed the physical contact Long-Nose was suddenly giving him. The hugs, the claps on the back, the waking up tangled in each other's limbs, and the simple act of sitting shoulder to shoulder with him made him so happy. Long-Nose… Long-Nose wanted him.

Zoro loved Long-Nose. 

-

Zoro had thought he'd had Witch figured out. A mean, bossy woman who liked to hit Luffy. Or so he'd thought. 

He noticed how she smiled at the others in the crew. How much she really liked him. He didn't have much to do to help her, so he joined her. He found he liked resting as she did. The first few times she didn't give him any indication of whether she liked his presence or not, but after that she would smile at him gently when he approached. She wanted him there. 

Witch was a good woman, he decided. Protective and a little rude, but Captain's insistence of "That's just how Nami is!" made sense now. When he went overboard with Captain, she saved him without hesitation. He was grateful. Her shouting afterward scared him at first, but somehow he could see past it. He saw the way she stopped and looked regretful. He thanked her softly. He really did mean it.

When she began to teach him to swim, he wanted nothing more than to hug her like he would Long-Nose or Captain. 

He was so lucky. So lucky they wanted him. 

He hated that swimming was so hard, though. Witch swam so easily, but she was patient, gracious, and kind about teaching him even in his clumsiness.. Zoro wondered why he hadn't seen that before. 

When she called him a fast learner, he couldn't keep the smile back. It made him so happy. She wanted him.

Zoro loved Witch. 

-

Captain seemed to be appeased with everything Zoro did. It was like everything Zoro himself wanted to do was something Captain wanted done, too. Captain was all hugs and compliments and laughter and wrestling and Zoro loved it. Captain felt like sunshine, like the sound of the sea, like freedom. 

Zoro had picked up the habit of carrying his Captain on his shoulders when they both just wandered the ship with nothing to do. Captain laughed and loved it. Zoro was useful in these moments. It was so very similar to when he'd carry his old master, but so different. Captain laughed and spoke to Zoro. He didn't expect an answer, but he still talked to him. He wanted him. 

Most of all, Zoro loved Captain. 

-

He helped the other crew members dock the ship in Loguetown. He listened to them chatter about what they wanted to do. Captain wanted to see where the king of the pirates died. Long-Nose wanted to get new sniping equipment. Cook wanted to check out what kind of food, mostly fish, they had this close to the Grand Line. Witch just seemed to want to go shopping. Captain sent himself flying out into the city before anyone could stop him, and Zoro felt worried to see him go but knew he'd be back, so he kept smiling. This was just like the other islands they'd gone to. 

Cook split off by himself too when Witch made it clear she  _ didn't  _ need to model clothes for him and get his opinion. Long-Nose left the ship too, excited. Zoro wasn't sure where he should go or who even wanted him with them (he smiled despite his nervousness, of course), but Witch's hand slipped into his own as they watched Cook and Long-Nose slip off into the rows of streets. 

"You," Witch said, "Are coming with me." 

Zoro was fine with that. He held her hand as she led him through the streets. She'd gotten a map of Loguetown somewhere. 

Both Zoro's and Witch's eyes were drawn by a commotion soon after they entered the town. There was a girl, surrounded by some strong-looking pirates. Zoro wasn't very interested in saving her, but Nami stopped, a look of concern on her face, so he stopped, too. 

The pirates taunted the girl, and Zoro felt Witch's hand tighten in his own. Should he attack them? Would that help Witch relax? His hand went to Wado at his side, but before he could draw it, the girl had drawn her own sword and rather skillfully beaten the men back. Zoro and Witch watched the spectacle, and Witch seemed to relax as the men were beaten down by the girl. Once they were down, though, said girl clumsily lost her balance and tripped. Witch pulled Zoro over to her as she began squinting and feeling around for her glasses, which had fallen off. Zoro watched Witch pick up the glasses and hand them to the girl before helping her up. The girl looked at them, and Zoro's heart nearly stopped. 

"Th… Thank you very much," she said. "Sorry for troubling you." She stood and brushed herself off. 

Zoro didn't catch Witch's reaction. He stood, rooted to the spot, staring at the girl. "K…" he couldn't get the name out. 

No one around her was important. Zoro's body didn't want to move. The girl made eye contact with him and Zoro couldn't tear his eyes away from that familiarity. Pressure was building in his chest and throat. Witch's hand squeezed his and he vaguely registered her saying something and the swordswoman responding before Witch was gently leading him away from her. Zoro's smile was gone. His vision was unfocused.  _ How could she be here? _

Witch sat him on a bench. "Zoro," she was saying, and Zoro vaguely heard her. 

It was a long, long moment before he blinked and suddenly Witch was clear again. Zoro remembered Kuina in detail. But that hadn't been Kuina. Right? Witch looked very concerned. Zoro realized he was frowning and rushed to fix the mistake. Witch still looked concerned, but she squeezed his hand again. "Are you back with me?"

Zoro nodded. 

He couldn't tell what Witch was thinking, but they were soon on their way again. She led him through the streets and he was happy to follow, avoiding his thoughts because they made it hard to smile for her. 

Witch led him into a sword shop. Once inside, he blinked and looked around. 

"Zoro, you should get another sword." She told him. Zoro was surprised at that. 

He didn't know why it was Witch would say that. She noticed his questioning eyes. He'd have to mask them better. 

"You used two practice swords sometimes against Sanji." She said. 

Zoro didn't say anything. "So you're getting another sword." She told him. 

Zoro looked at her eyes for a moment. He found she was serious. It was best not to disappoint her, so he nodded. He'd get another sword. 

The owner of the shop, though, tried to swindle them out of Wado. Zoro wanted to cut him for that. Like he'd lose  _ his _ Wado again. Thankfully, Witch gave him a firm and threatening "No."

Witch was really strong. Zoro smiled at the thought. 

Zoro went to the barrels of cheaper swords. He knew Nami liked her money. She'd like him more if he bought something cheaper. He hovered his hands over the swords. A red sheath called to him. He wrapped his hand round the hilt and pulled it out. 

"That! I can't sell you that!" The man waved his arms in Zoro's peripheral, but, similarly to when he found Wado, Zoro didn't care. 

Zoro felt electricity run up his arm. The sword was practically humming with energy. It wanted action. It wanted to be strong, like he did. 

"I'm serious! Put it back, it's cursed!" The man yelled. But this man wasn't one of Captain's crew. Zoro didn't care. 

Besides. He already knew it was cursed. He wanted to be strong. The cursed blade was basically asking to be taken. He glanced at Witch. Then, he unsheathed the sword fully, deathly calm settling over him (he wasn't smiling anymore). He felt the weight of the sword, and then he tossed it straight up. If it wanted him, he'd keep his arm. If it didn't want him, he'd happily lose it. He held his arm out. 

He vaguely heard Witch's horrified gasp and the shouting of the store owner. He also heard the door open. Zoro didn't falter. His breathing was slow and calm. 

The sword embedded itself in the floor. Silence followed. 

Zoro snapped out of whatever that was. He looked to Witch, who seemed relieved but still scared. He smiled again. She looked at the store owner. 

"We're buying that sword." She said. The man nodded quickly, fearfully. Zoro looked down and he pulled the cursed sword out of the floorboards and sheathed it. 

"Sandai Kitetsu." A voice said over his shoulder, and Zoro jolted. He looked at its owner. 

**_Kuina._ **

He couldn't do much but stare. 

"That was very impressive! I didn't expect to see that when I came in! To challenge a cursed sword like that…" she continued on about the sword. 

_ "One of us will be the world's greatest! _

Zoro remembered his dream. 

He stood still, smile gone again (today just wasn't a day to keep it up, apparently). 

The shop owner ran to him. "You're a better swordsman than I thought… please, take this sword! No price! It's a family heirloom but it deserves to be with someone like you!" He was saying. 

Zoro left the shop with a wavering smile, three swords on his hip, and a rediscovered dream. Witch was pulling him. It had taken a bit to get him out of the place. But now the Kuina fake (she had to be fake) was away from him. 

_ Wado Ichimonji. Sandai Kitetsu. Yubashiri.  _

Zoro liked the names of his swords, he decided. He smiled as Witch spent the next few hours flitting between shops and getting a good deal of clothing and other things. He was happy to carry her stuff for her, and she was happy to let him. He was glad she didn't mind his earlier lack of smile. 

Then, Witch's hand tightened in his when they exited one shop.

"We need to get back to Merry. It's gonna storm." 

Zoro ran with her, hand gripping hers tightly. He didn't recognize their route. It wasn't long, though, before they smacked into someone else. "Sanji!? Usopp!?" Witch had to speak up a little. The wind was picking up.

"A storm's coming! We need to get to Merry or else she could be destroyed!"

"But where's Luffy?" Cook asked. 

"Shit!" Witch exclaimed. 

"I'll find him! You get to Merry. I'll meet you all there!" Cook said.

Witch nodded beside him. Zoro let go of her hand and pushed the bags of hers he'd been carrying into it. He went to Cook and took his hand instead.

"I want to find Captain with you." He said softly. Cook nodded. 

Not much else was said, but Witch and Long-Nose began to run in one direction. 

Cook pulled Zoro in the other and they ran together, hands holding each other tight. Zoro allowed Cook to lead him. He began to feel nervous. 

He heard Captain's voice before he saw him. 

"I'M THE MAN WHO'LL BE KING OF THE PIRATES!!"

They rounded a corner and there Captain was, on a tall scaffold. Zoro could see the situation clearly. Captain was stuck. A man stood over him with a sword.

"WAIT!" He heard Cook yell. Zoro didn't hesitate. There were men running at him. He unsheathed Wado and Kitetsu. Kitetsu was humming with bloodlust and he wasn't going to deny it. His Captain depended on it. Desperation pounded in his chest. He sliced clean through anyone who tried to stop him. Blood began to pool on the cobblestone ground. 

Zoro didn't care. He made a beeline for Captain. 

"WITNESS THE LAST MOMENTS OF YOUR CAPTAIN!!" The man with the sword was shouting. 

If Zoro could just cut down the execution stand… 

He heard his Captain's voice again. "Sanji! Usopp! Nami! Zoro!"

Zoro didn't stop. His heart was beating faster than ever before, he couldn't let his Captain down. Couldn't let him die. He  _ couldn't! _

"Sorry! I'm dead!" He heard, and his heart broke. He saw the sword coming down, heard Cook's yell of denial. 

It couldn't end like this, it couldn't! Zoro didn't know what he'd do without Captain there. He felt himself almost begin to sob. 

The sword seemed to be in slow motion but Zoro couldn't get there. Too  _ weak _ , never enough.  _ He'd failed his Captain.  _ It was hard to breathe. 

The blade was inches from his savior's neck. The world felt numb and blank. The only pinprick of light and feeling was Captain, who Zoro couldn't reach. 

"LUFFY!!" Zoro screamed. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope that was alright. I got long-winded, but I knew exactly where I wanted to end this chapter. I just can't tell if I put enough feeling in it. 
> 
> Comments are appreciated and strongly encouraged, please, tell me anything you thought. You will not annoy me and anything anyone says will absolutely floor me and I won't be able to stop grinning for hours. Even if it's criticism. I will be happy.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, again! Sorry for any typos, and sorry for how short it is!

Zoro's heart leapt up to his throat, body frozen in terror. He struggled to breathe as he watched the sword descend until suddenly there was a bright flash, blinding him. He rushed to blink the blindness away,  _ Luffy. Where is Luffy? _

The scaffold was on fire. Was Luffy on fire? God, he hoped not. His mind pushed past the thought quickly despite how long it seemed to linger, but only a few seconds passed before the entire scaffold was crashing to the ground before him and his racing mind had something else to worry about. 

Luffy stood in front of the rubble, intact.  _ Safe _ . He picked up his hat and plopped it onto his head with the relaxed ease Zoro had become so used to. "Hahah! Looks like I survived! How lucky!" He was saying, but Zoro was ignoring it. He had to move. 

He crossed the few feet of battlefield between them, passing the shocked onlookers. He reached his captain and scooped him up into his arms. 

Luffy squirmed a little, but eventually settled. Zoro held him close to his chest. He wasn't going to let go. There were men appearing at the edges of the square, shouting. Zoro didn't hear their words, but understood they wanted to stop him. To stop his captain.  _ Get Luffy to the ship.  _ That was what he had to do. And these men wouldn't stop him.

Zoro began to run. Luffy was laughing against his chest as he ran, watching ahead of them. Cook fell into step beside Zoro and they sprinted from the place, the pouring rain which had started with that flash now soaking them.  _ Get Luffy to the ship. _

Zoro ignored the shouts behind them while Cook took the time to kick some of the closer marines away. Zoro wasn't about to let go of Luffy to help.  _ Get Luffy to the ship. _

He kept running, faster than he thought he ever had. It was partially exhilarating. He caught a glance of Kuina- no, Not-Kuina. But he had no time. He dodged past her and kept running, Cook shouting something behind him. That didn't matter.  _ Get Luffy to the ship.  _

There was another person ahead, blocking the street. But Zoro needed to keep on running, to  _ get Luffy to the ship _ . The man didn't move. 

"So you've come, Straw Hat Luffy." Zoro heard the man's voice boom. But he wasn't intimidated.  _ Get Luffy to the ship. _

"Who're you??" His captain yelled. 

"The name's Smoker. I'm a captain of the Marine Headquarters." His voice came again. Zoro kept running, approaching him. "And I won't allow you to set sail from here!"

Zoro was almost past him.  _ Get Luffy to the ship.  _

But then he was grabbed by something. Luffy was wrenched from him and he screamed out. "Luffy! LUFFY!!" 

He'd failed. He struggled against whatever was holding him, muscles straining. Despite his efforts nothing happened. He reached for his captain. Breathing was harder. Without his clear task of running to the ship, he didn't know what to do. He wasn't strong enough. He was a failure. Not good enough for Luffy. The stuff restraining him slammed him to the ground but he could hardly feel the pain. He tried to get back up and it grabbed him and slammed him down again. His head spun.

He vaguely registered Cook trying to kick at the man and failing, instead being sent flying into a building. He tried to keep his eyes on Luffy, though.

Luffy screamed something at the man, "Oi!! ...et my swordsm… Smo… guy! I'm… ick your ass!!" Zoro heard over his own labored panting and the pouring rain.

The man shoved Luffy to the ground and Zoro watched in horror as he shoved his head down and went for his weapon. Zoro screamed and writhed in the stuff holding him but couldn't escape it. 

The weapon was grabbed, though. By someone in a cloak. Zoro watched, eyes wide. His body felt weak. He trembled in fear, and hated it. He needed to be stronger to be of use to Luffy. 

"You're-!" The man restraining them yelled. 

Luffy squirmed. "What!? Wh... there!?"

"Th… tire government… your head, you know." The man said. 

The cloaked newcomer grinned. "...world is still aw… ing our answer."

Zoro heard no more. There was a gust of wind. He and Luffy were blown away from the two men, released from the smoke - smoke? - binding them. He scrambled to his captain and grabbed him tightly, arms and hands trembling badly. Luffy wrapped his arms around Zoro. Cook was with them now, having recovered from his hitting the wall. Zoro clutched Luffy and ran.  _ Get Luffy to the ship.  _

The ship was up ahead - they were almost there. Witch and Long-Nose were onboard. Zoro threw himself at it and scrambled up the side, awkward when he was holding Luffy. 

Once he was onboard, he wrapped his arms and legs around Luffy, half in his lap. His body trembled and he pressed his head into the man's shoulder. 

"Luffy," He whimpered. "Luffy, Luffy, Luffy, Luffy, don't leave me, Luffy!" He sobbed. 

Luffy did not protest to the hold. His chin pressed into Zoro's head. His arms returned the embrace. "I'm not gonna leave Zoro!" He answered, voice cheery. 

Zoro pressed closer to him, giving shuddering sobs. He'd been terrified. He couldn't bring himself to say anything else. He couldn't stand the idea of being alone again. Of being unwanted. Who would want him other than Luffy?

Luffy held him, and Zoro remained close to him. The ship was moving now, Cook's and Long-Nose's feet hammering around the deck. But Zoro wouldn't leave Luffy. 

The island began to shrink into the storm behind them. Zoro's shaking slowly, slowly calmed and his breathing slowed the further away they got. 

\- - -

After the ship was on course, Zoro followed the others as they migrated to the front of the ship, and off in the distance a bright light was visible through the storm.

"...ntrance to the Grand Line is just up ahead of that light." Witch was saying. "So what shall we do?"

Long-Nose was protesting going in such a storm, but Zoro saw the excitement in Luffy's face and he smiled. 

"So we've reached the Grand Line, have we? This calls for a celebration!" Cook grunted as he dragged a barrel over to their group. Zoro watched him, curious. 

Cook set his heel up on the barrel. "To find All Blue." He said, smiling. 

Luffy excitedly joined him, slapping his own heel onto the barrel with considerable force. "To become the Pirate King!!" He shouted. 

Witch joined the group. Her heel hit the barrel by Luffy's. "To draw a map of the world!" She smiled, perhaps the biggest smile Zoro had ever seen on her.

Long-Nose's legs trembled, but he picked up his foot and set the heel of his boot by Witch's on the barrel. "T...to become a b-brave warrior of the sea!" He added. 

There was space between Long-Nose and Cook. There was a bit of an awkward silence but Zoro approached the barrel. He looked around it, taking in each of their faces. He slowly rested his foot alongside theirs, as unworthy as he felt. But they'd left space for him. To leave it empty would be to let them down. 

"To become the Greatest Swordsman." He said softly. His eyes met Luffy's for a moment, and his grin was wider than he'd thought possible. The rest of them looked just as proud. His smile became more comfortable and he let himself relax. If his dream appeased them all… then he'd make it come true. For them. 

_ For Kuina _ , some small part of him said. 

As one, they raised their feet higher, and Zoro's heart felt full as he smashed through the wooden barrel in tandem with his nakama.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, sorry for the briefness. That's just where it felt right to end. :)  
> Suggestions? Complaints? Critiques? Curse words? Curse words that rhyme? Tell me. I am a huge sucker for comments.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long! I kept writing and rewriting it and deleting what I had but now it's at a point I like! Enjoy!

The wind and current roared in their ears as they approached the waterway. The louder it got, the harder Zoro's heart pounded. His Captain was laughing, elated and exhilarated. Cook and Long-Nose were holding the whipstaff, and something in Zoro's chest tickled and swelled. He didn't know what it was, but it felt good. Really, really good. 

It shifted, though, when there was a loud snap and the ship began to barrel towards the side of the mountain, no longer on course. Cook and Long-Nose were shouting, and Zoro registered Luffy whizzing by him to the front of the ship and  _ jumping off it _ , and Zoro felt panic spike inside him. He followed his Captain to the railing and grabbed his hat from the air where he'd dropped it. He watched, eyes wide, as Luffy sucked in air and blew himself up, cushioning the ship and preventing the crash. The current began to take them up, but Zoro's captain was not taken with it. 

Zoro shot his hand out desperately. "Luffy!" He shouted. 

A rubber arm stretched and a hand clasped into his, and his captain shot back towards him in one piece. Zoro smiled a real smile. They both hit the deck but Luffy was up in a moment, laughing and hooting. The others joined in the merrymaking as their little ship shot up the mountain. 

The tickly sensation returned. Zoro had never really felt it before. It rose up in his chest and he had a hard time holding it in. His nakama were all there, safe. They were headed for their dreams, and the wind whipped around them as the unrelenting current shoved them towards the sea where those dreams would come true. 

The feeling in Zoro's chest bubbled up and over at Luffy's scream of "WE DID IT!!" and his smile went so wide it hurt his cheeks. He joined his nakama in their celebration, a hearty laugh forcing its way out of him along with a cheer. He found he couldn't hold the feeling back, and the raw excitement continued to light up his face. They hit the top of the mountain and shot into the air, and the floating sensation made Zoro's stomach drop in the exact right way. He laughed wildly, eyes crinkling shut as he felt the wind bash against his body and the weightlessness that came with being airborne. 

Luffy let out a cheer that pulled the corners of Zoro's mouth up even more, and his eyes shot open at the scream of "I CAN SEE THE GRAND LINE UP AHEAD!"

\- - -

Nami grinned as they shot down the roaring current, the wind whipping her hair every which way. She'd gotten them into the Grand Line. Pride swelled in her chest, pride for herself and for every one of her nakama, for how they'd all grown in just this first short leg of their journey. 

Luffy sat on his special seat, of course, holding on tightly. His smile was bright and wide and wild, but then, it always was. She wouldn't have her future Pirate King any other way. Usopp was smiling, excited, despite how his hands trembled where he held himself up above the sail. She wondered if he felt as much closer to becoming a brave warrior of the sea as she did to creating a map of the world in this moment. Sanji's face was lit up in a huge grin, uncovered eye fixed on the ocean ahead where he sat opposite Usopp - the two had pulled the sail up to let the current take them. All Blue must be out there somewhere. She was excited to be with him when they discovered it. 

Zoro was smiling, too. And it wasn't one of his fake ones. It was real, and almost as wild and excited as Luffy's. It was such a stark contrast to his usual expression, from the searching it normally took to gauge his mood. She preferred this Zoro, the one that wore his emotions on his sleeve.

_ "The Greatest Swordsman, huh?" _ She murmured to herself, inaudible to the others over the waves and wind. She took in Zoro's muscles, which had already been there when they'd found him, but had grown and become more prominent while he trained with Sanji and worked on the ship. He stood close behind Luffy, hands gripping the Merry's railing. His swords looked so natural at his side, even in the strange number that they were. He carried them so comfortably, too. 

The Greatest Swordsman. She could see it. 

She was distracted as a loud, long wail rang out around them. "Did you guys hear something just now?" Sanji yelled.

Nami frowned for a moment, then shrugged. "It could just be from the wind. After all, the weather here is pretty strange!" She called back. 

The sound came again. She heard Usopp's voice, then. "What is that!?"

Sanji's voice came down from the mast. "Nami! There's a mountain!!"

_ A mountain? What?  _ "That can't be!" She shouted. Ahead should be open seas!

The wail sounded again, much louder. Nami looked ahead and the mist cleared. There was something huge, there. It rose high above the water, blocking their path.

Nami's heart nearly stopped when she realized what the gigantic object was. "That's no mountain! It's a whale!!" She screamed. It was  _ huge! _ She'd never seen such a large whale! 

"Do we fight it!?" Luffy was yelling, already cracking his knuckles.

The men were all yelling and she registered Usopp, Zoro and Sanji running to try and use the broken rudder. 

"That's it! I've got a plan!" Luffy yelled, disappearing below deck before answering Nami's question of what that may be. 

"The rudder won't budge!" Sanji yelled, voice strained. They were going to crash soon. 

Suddenly, there was a loud bang. 

"THE CANNON!?" Nami yelled. Their progress slowed a little, but there was very little they could do now and they were still going to hit the-

There was a loud crack. Nami ducked just as the Merry's figurehead snapped back and fell onto the deck, nearly crushing her. She curled herself up by the railing. "Oh, God, I almost died just now," she whispered, horrified. 

And now Luffy was screaming. Right, his special seat. The other boys began to row for it, and she loved them for that, thank God someone other than her had the sense to get the oars out. 

Her relief about the oars didn't last long, though. Luffy had punched the whale. In the eye. 

"THAT IDIOT!" she screeched, and she heard at least one other voice exclaim the same thing from across the ship. 

The eye moved down and settled on them, and Nami felt her whole body tense. "IT SAW US!" she screamed. 

The men were yelling amongst each other when suddenly the water began to swirl and rush along the ship as the whale opened its mouth. The water pulled the Merry into its jaws with it.

And then Luffy fell off the boat, out of the mouth… And then the jaws snapped shut. 

\- - -

They'd gotten eaten by a whale, hadn't they? What the hell? Why was the sky visible?

Nami stared around them as Usopp and Sanji voiced these questions aloud. She glanced at them. They stood next to each other at the front of the ship. Zoro was behind them, arms crossed, and when her eyes hit him she frowned. That was the most forced she'd ever seen his smile. He was sweating. And were his fingernails digging into his arms?

They were, Nami realized as Zoro slowly dragged them over the muscled flesh, ripping the skin open shallowly. His fingers were tense and trembled even as he pressed them hard into his forearms. He repeated the action. 

Frown growing, Nami walked to him and took the hand where it was mid-scratch. She squeezed it and stood next to him, holding it tight. He jumped a little bit. His smile didn't falter in its forced-ness. He didn't look at her, but his hand gripped hers back with considerable strength. She could feel it shaking despite its forced tenseness.

She was going to have to tell Luffy not to be so goddamn reckless. 

She held his hand for a long while, even when it was sweating terribly in the iron grip. She knew if she pulled away he'd let go easily, but she preferred the hot, clammy hold to the idea of more red, potentially bloody lines on his arms. 

She let Usopp and Sanji deal with the giant squid and the strange, flower-like man. All she felt she needed to do now was keep Zoro functioning until Luffy got back. Luffy did get back soon, thankfully. And when he did, Zoro let go, ran to him, and scooped him up, seemingly unfazed by the strange circumstances of his arrival. (He'd flown out of a door in the "sky." Seriously, what was with this place?)

After a bit of squirming and climbing, Luffy was on Zoro's shoulders, laughing and hugging his head. Zoro was visibly much more relaxed. That dependency on Luffy couldn't be healthy, but how much progress could Nami really ask for in the short time Zoro had been nakama?

\- - -

The longer the old flower man went on with his story, the more Nami's eyes were drawn to watch Zoro. He was seated, listening closely. Luffy kept shifting in his lap, ever restless even when he was comfortable. 

Every time Usopp had an angry outburst in response to the old man's words, Zoro's hands tensed more on his knees, gripping his pants. Nami saw one of Luffy's hands move to clasp one of Zoro's the second or third time Usopp yelled about the unfairness. The hold was returned, and Zoro's eyes were on the table, but he didn't seem to really be looking at it. He was, of course, smiling. The corners of his mouth were pulled up in the stiff expression Nami had become accustomed to from him.

The whale had been left behind. That was just how it was. It was no big surprise that such a story would draw a reaction from Zoro, though. Nami's memories of his trembling form crouched in the street a few weeks ago came to the front of her mind at that thought. Zoro had been left alone before. When the old flower man spoke of how Laboon's friends would never return to him, it seemed Zoro was forced to remember whatever had happened to him despite the stress it caused him. His hand shifted to grip Luffy's tighter, and Luffy nuzzled his chest.

Nami saw Sanji glancing at their swordsman, too. Saw how his eye twitched every time Usopp had an outburst. 

"BUT HOW COULD THEY-"

"Shut up already, Usopp!" The cook hissed. Usopp glared at him, but before he could say anything, Sanji continued. "They left him. It happened. Don't argue with the past."

That was an obvious excuse. Sanji likely would've argued with Usopp anyways, but wouldn't have snapped like that had Usopp's dragging out of the narrative not been distressing Zoro more every minute. 

Nami was grateful someone made Usopp stop, and even more grateful when Sanji's eye flitted in the direction of Zoro, a gaze Usopp followed before stiffening and shutting his mouth. Good. He understood.

The swordsman didn't look nearly as bad as when the whale had separated them from Luffy, but he was still sweaty and stiff and his smile wasn't a mindless, relaxed smile as much as it was a forced, rigid half-grimace. 

\- - -

Zoro had never participated in a party before. Well, he'd thought he had with his nakama, but this party was different. There were a lot more people, and while he was used to his nakama being loud, those four plus fifty or so other people were much louder. Like the parties they had on the ship, there was much laughter and eating, but there was quite a bit more drinking. 

He was watching Witch gulp down mug after mug of beer from his place next to Long-Nose. His Captain was nearby, laughing and shouting and eating his fill. Cook seemed incredibly happy, grinning and talking to women in an exaggerated sing-song voice, even more exaggerated than the one he used for Witch. 

Long-Nose, next to him, was storytelling, a mug of beer in his hand. Zoro held one as well, and he'd taken a sip of it but found it disgusting. Still, though, he kept absent-mindedly drinking it and after a bit it really didn't taste so bad. Long-Nose had an arm around him and Zoro was very comfortable snuggled up next to him. After a few hours the festivities died down and Long-Nose's side became just as good for sleeping as it was for listening to stories. 

He woke up what must've been a few hours later, feeling warm where his body was pressed against Long-Nose's. Somehow they'd shifted so Long-Nose's cheek pressed against Zoro's shoulder and his body was curled against his side, one arm thrown over his chest. Luffy was laying on him too, it seemed. His head was on Zoro's other shoulder and he was hugging his arm with both his arms and legs. 

It was warm and Zoro had no desire to move. For one, he was being useful to them. He also couldn't deny that the warmth and close proximity didn't make his heart feel full. He smiled and closed his eyes again. 

But then he heard talking. And the tone wasn't one he liked. The voices weren't the voices of his nakama. He extracted himself from between Captain and Long-Nose, careful not to jostle or wake them in the process. His swords were nearby and he quietly put them in their place on his hip. He snuck outside. 

"...confiscate any money on their ship and tie them all up." One of the men from the party was saying. "If we kill them, we'll lose thirty percent of the bounty money. The government would rather do public executions of criminals, after all."

Zoro didn't listen for more. He knew his nakama were pirates. He knew the dangers of that. This man was one of those dangers. This man wanted to restrain them all. To take Zoro's nakama from him. Wanted to take Luffy, take Cook, take Long-Nose, take Witch. 

His eyes narrowed. His crew would not be stopped. He'd make sure of it. 

He shot forward, hardly even thinking as he drew his swords. He went at the man who was speaking first and he must've caught him off-guard because Yubashiri slashed right into the man's belly and Kitetsu cut his leg open. The man let out a scream and staggered backwards, blood darkening his clothes. He fell. The blue-haired girl next to him shrieked. Zoro whirled to face her and slashed at her now, but she managed to stumble out of the way. 

"IGARAM!" She screamed. She dropped and scrambled to the man and Zoro tried to go at her again but a guy with a crown blocked his slashes with a pair of metal bats. 

Suddenly, there were people everywhere. People holding weapons. People who wanted to stop Luffy, Zoro knew. He pulled back from the man with the bats and widened his stance, waiting and listening for someone to make the first move. Someone close to his side took a small step and he launched himself into action, the world a blur as he felt Yubashiri slice right through his would-be attacker's neck. Blood splattered all over the blade and Zoro's face, warm and pungent.

He blocked every weapon he could, noting Kitetsu's sharpness and Yubashiri's lightness. The swords felt natural in his hands. A lethal calm settled over him, adrenaline sharpening the world and waking his limbs fully. He whirled and blocked and slashed and blood splattered on the cobblestone street around him. He was hit several times by blunt weapons and even bullets, but he did not falter. The pain was dull and throbbing under the rushing of his blood in his ears. Enemy after enemy fell and the ground became sticky with blood, and then slick with it. Zoro stood his ground. He didn't run. He didn't need to. His body moved from both the habits he'd built up with Sanji and the ones from long, long ago at the dojo. 

Blood coated his swords and fists and forearms, smeared all over his face and neck. It clung to him and stained his clothes red. He kept fighting and the blood kept coming, kept covering him. Kitetsu was humming with energy in his hand, calling for more and more bloodshed. Who was Zoro to deny that? These people needed to pay. His Captain would not be stopped. 

A very muscular woman managed to grab his neck and lift him. He choked, but his sword was still in his hand. His arm moved without thinking and Kitetsu sang as it slashed through her flesh. She screamed and then it was only a matter of Zoro pulling the dismembered arm off his neck. 

She fell, gripping the stump of her arm. Zoro found that there were no more enemies. The ground at his feet had blood pooling everywhere. It had soaked through his clothes and hair, even his boots. It was warm. 

He found himself alone, standing in a street full of corpses. Some were breathing, but barely and likely not for long.

"...finished," he breathed very softly, smiling. He'd smiled the whole time, but now it felt relaxed again. He could return to his nakama.

\- - -

The first man he'd cut was now gripping his bloody pant leg and bowing. He was begging him to save some girl, and Zoro didn't understand.  _ Others _ didn't beg  _ him. _ But there the guy was.

He was quite distracted from the man, though, because Witch was outside, awake. And she was staring at him with wide eyes. "Zoro…" she whispered.

Zoro's full attention went to her. 

"All… all that blood… Zoro, what did you…"

"Please! I'll reward you greatly!" The man was begging. 

Zoro just stared at Witch. "Bounty hunters…" he murmured, uncertain.

She paused, then sighed softly. "I know."

"PLEASE!" the man shouted, and then collapsed into a coughing fit, blood dripping from his mouth and joining that which was already pooled on the ground. 

"...Zoro. Go save the girl." Witch said after a while of silence. 

Zoro nodded and ran after the blue-haired woman. 

\- - -

"ZOROOO!!" Luffy was shouting. 

"Captain?" He asked, and was ignored.

"I'LL NEVER FORGIVE YOU! FIGHT ME!!"

Zoro's eyes went wide and he froze.  _ What? _ He stopped breathing. He stared at Luffy as he approached, didn't stop staring as the rubber fist slammed into his face. He fell onto his back and skidded backwards. Captain appeared over him, panting.

"C-captain-"

"NO! I'M NOT YOUR CAPTAIN! AN UNGRATEFUL BASTARD LIKE YOU CAN'T CALL ME CAPTAIN!!" He pulled his fist back again. "I'M GONNA KICK YOUR ASS!!"

Zoro stared. He couldn't breathe. His eyes wouldn't leave Luffy's, which were furious and hate-filled and directed at him. Luffy punched him again. Zoro's hands were lax on his swords and he let go of them when the blow came. It forced the air out of him but breathing in felt like breathing through a straw. Luffy's glare was crushing him. Why was this happening? Why, why, what had he done? He couldn't move even if he wanted to and remained lax and limp in Luffy's hold when the boy grabbed the front of his shirt and yanked him up to face him.

"FIGHT ME, ZORO." Luffy was shouting, but Zoro had no will to do such a thing. 

He felt numb. Luffy hated him. Luffy wanted to kill him, wanted him gone. He did not smile, not anymore. 

"YOU CUT UP ALL THOSE PEOPLE! AFTER THE PARTY AND ALL THE FOOD THEY GAVE US!" Luffy shouted in his face. 

Zoro's mouth wasn't working. His vision blurred, but the image of Luffy's rage directed at him remained anyways. Luffy let go of him and dropped him. "I thought you were better than that. I shouldn't've taken you with-"

Zoro vaguely registered a blur passing over him and slamming into Luffy. Vaguely registered Luffy falling. But his brain wasn't working enough to react. Breathing hurt. He couldn't do anything except stare at the sky. Luffy didn't want him.

_ I'm not your captain.  _

_ Luffy didn't want him. _

\- - -

Nami's heart dropped straight into her gut when she rounded the corner of a house to see Luffy's fist connect with Zoro's face. Luffy had been yelling, and that was normal, but the screaming of  _ I'm not your captain _ had filled her with dread and quickened her pace as she ran to meet him. There was only one person that Luffy could logically be saying that to. Their swordsman. Their swordsman with the abandonment issues and the complete dependency on Luffy. On Captain. Their swordsman who, upon a closer look when Nami arrived, couldn't seem to move or react to Luffy's shouting. Whose forceful smile was gone in favor of a heartbroken and confused stare. His eyes were wide. His eyebrows kept twitching, like he was about to break down into tears but was too shocked to just yet. His mouth was open, moving ever so slightly as if to try and speak but no sound came. He'd dropped his swords.

Nami sprinted towards them. She heard Luffy's voice. He was going to say something horrible, Nami had to stop him from saying something horrible. Zoro was already damaged enough. 

She slammed into Luffy and it took much of her force to throw him off - for all that he looked skinny, his muscles were impressive and his stance was firm. She landed on top of him and held him down when he squirmed. Luckily, he seemed confused. Seemed reluctant to fight her. She'd gotten him away from Zoro, but his message had gotten across. The damage had been done. 

"NAMI!? GET OFF M-" 

She punched him. "WHAT THE FUCK WERE YOU SAYING, LUFFY!?"

"Nami?? You- ZORO KILLED ALL THOSE PEOPLE! AFTER THEY GAVE US ALL THAT F-"

Nami punched him again. "YOU FUCKING IDIOT! THEY'RE BOUNTY HUNTERS! THEY WERE GOING TO TURN US IN! ZORO WAS PROTECTING US!!" 

She tried to stop her hands from trembling.

Luffy angrily opened his mouth to respond and oh god, he didn't understand. He was going to-

His mouth clicked back shut. His eyes were glancing over at Zoro, who still hadn't moved and who was struggling to breathe.

"....fuck." he whispered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uh oh.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow did this come quickly. I don't think it's too rushed. If you see any issues, though, tell me :)

Nami glared down at Luffy, panting. Her captain was no longer struggling, and his eyes were on Zoro. 

She climbed off him and made her way over to their fallen swordsman. Before she could reach him, a voice rang out to her left.

"Don't forget about me!" The man Zoro had been fighting yelled. He flicked something small and round and suddenly the ground right next to Zoro blew up and flames licked his right side. The force of the explosion knocked Nami over and even from her place on the other side of Zoro she felt its heat assault her front. Her eyes went wide. 

Luffy whizzed by her towards their attacker and she took the opportunity to crawl to Zoro. Luckily, the explosion had been far enough away that his arm was still intact, but his flesh was raw and red and his shirt was singed. She could smell burnt skin and hair. Little rocks and bits of dirt were lodged into his flesh as well. 

She needed to get him to safety. Luffy could deal with the attacker. She gathered and sheathed his swords, then hoisted him up by his good arm and held most of his weight upright. She began to drag him towards the building they'd held the party in. She'd need Usopp and Sanji's help to get him to the ship, where they could clean and bandage his wounds and let him rest. She tried not to think about what they'd do after that, or about Zoro's undeniably broken mental state. 

His feet clumsily stumbled along, holding only a small amount of his weight. He seemed conscious, just barely.

The building was in sight, Nami just had to navigate all the bodies outside it to reach the door. Once inside, she took a moment to catch her breath. Pulling such a muscular man, even over a short distance, was exhausting. She didn't give herself long, though, before she breathed in deeply. 

"SANJI. USOPP. GET UP!"

Usopp groaned and rolled over, curling up and covering his ears. Sanji, on the other hand, was up in a flash. "Oh, my beautiful Nami-swan! What can I do f-" And then he actually saw her. Saw Zoro. His smile dropped.

Nami's arms hurt from holding Zoro up. "Help me get him to the ship, we need to fix him up." She ordered, though her voice was soft.

Sanji nodded, now serious. He crouched and shook Usopp. "Oi. Usopp. Get up, it's serious."

He went to Nami and, upon taking in the state of Zoro's right shoulder, he took him from her and held him bridal style, pressing his left side against his chest so as not to aggravate the wound.

Usopp groaned, but his voice cut off when he saw Zoro in Sanji's arms. He was up in a moment. "Wh-what happened?"

Sanji shook his head. "Later. Let's get him to the ship."

Nami nodded, grateful she could let Sanji take charge for now.

Once on the ship, they set up a mat in the galley and laid Zoro on it. Usopp knew more about how to care for him than either her or Sanji, so they left him alone to patch up the now unconscious swordsman. 

Suddenly, around the other side of the island, there was a large explosion. Nami heard footsteps and watched Luffy turn a corner and run to the ship, along with that blue-haired girl. A large bird was running after the girl, and all three of them quickly jumped up onto the ship. The girl was biting her lip so hard it was bleeding, and Nami recognized the expression of holding back tears. 

"Alright! All here! We gotta set sail!" Luffy yelled, voice uncharacteristically rushed. 

Nami nodded quickly. She helped Sanji and Luffy unfasten the sails so they could make their way out of the river they'd docked in and into the sea. 

"Vivi? How many people are gonna come after us?" Luffy asked the blue-haired girl, Vivi, apparently. 

Nami quickly turned to face them both. "Come after us!?"

"Vivi told me something she wasn't s'posed to. N' since they're after her, they're after us now too." Luffy answered. It lacked his usual energy.

On top of all of this, now they had a crime syndicate after them? She rubbed her eyes. Fuck. That old guy who'd asked them to help the girl had told her about the organization somewhat before she'd run to help Zoro. It wasn't something she wanted to be involved with. 

"Ah… well, Baroque works has over 2,000 members… and islands like Whiskey Peak aren't uncommon…"

This was a mess. 

\- - -

It took a long time to sort the whole thing out and to understand Vivi's situation. Longer than it should have with how they were all already worried for Zoro. 

"It's almost morning…" Nami murmured, watching the first signs of the sunrise light up the horizon. 

"Be careful not to crash your ship into the rocks near the shore. And congratulations on your escape~." An unfamiliar voice called. 

\- - -

Usopp was no doctor, but he was the best their little crew had to deal with Zoro's injuries. They could all do basic first aid, but Usopp had bought several books on medicine in Cocoyashi after their fight with Arlong's crew. That fight had been grueling and terrifying, especially when it was him, Luffy and Sanji against all those fishmen. They hadn't come out unscathed, not even close. Usopp had been the least wounded of the three of them, and had insisted that the doctor let him help treat his friends. He'd learned a lot even in those few days as they recovered, and since then whenever any of them got into a scuffle with marines or pirates or other enemies, he would treat their wounds. 

Zoro's injuries were more numerous than Usopp was used to. He kept his hands from shaking, though. That was one good thing in this situation. As a sniper, he had experience stilling trembling hands. He tried to calm his mind. Zoro's burn would have to be cleaned. All of the bits of rocks and dirt needed to be removed. All that foreign blood in general needed to get off him. So, the first thing he did was an awkward sponge bath which revealed minor scrapes and a few larger bruises, and two gunshot wounds, both of which seemed to have gone straight through him, missing any vital organs as far as he could tell. Usopp was thankful for that. He wasn't sure he could remove a bullet. 

Once he decided the burn was sufficiently clean, he put a cold, wet towel over it while he went to the other injuries. Most everything else he could do was disinfecting and bandaging any bleeding cuts, and applying ice to the growing bruises. For the bullet wounds, all he could do was bandage them tight to stop any more bleeding. After that was done, he took the cold towel off the burn and gently wrapped it in a bandage, which he secured with gauze. 

Past that, he couldn't do much. He covered Zoro in a blanket and left him to rest as he joined Nami and Sanji on deck. 

Luffy had also returned, it seemed. And he had that whaler from before with him, the one with the blue hair. 

Usopp went to them, and their eyes were all immediately on him. "Uh… he'll be fine… I think." He looked at Luffy and Nami. "What… uh… what happened?"

"That's what I'd like to know. Why didn't anyone wake us? We could've helped. Were we attacked?" Sanji asked, lighting a cigarette.

Nami sighed. "Those people who welcomed us were bounty hunters. Zoro apparently woke up and found out, and… well. You saw."

Usopp remembered all the bodies in the road. "Zoro… all of them?" 

Nami nodded. "I went out right when he sliced down the last one. Then, uh. One of them asked us to help Vivi here." She gestured at the whaler. "And he offered money. I didn't… I didn't realize Zoro was already so wounded. So I told him to help her. Then Luffy woke up. And he… he didn't know they were bounty hunters and he thought Zoro killed them for no reason… I got there too late to stop him..."

Luffy's head was down, hat shadowing his face. "I… I told him not to call me captain… I… I hit him." His voice was soft. Regretful.

Usopp's eyes widened and he felt sick. Fuck. On top of all those injuries, Zoro thought Luffy wanted him gone?

That… that was… 

Sanji's visible eye had widened upon hearing the words. He dropped his cigarette and then his eye narrowed. He crossed the space between himself and his captain in two long strides and grabbed Luffy's shirt. "You idiot! Do you have any idea how he depended on you!? You never think things through, do you!? He was doing so good and you just  _ ruined everything _ ! What if he doesn't trust us again!? We  _ told  _ you what happened two weeks ago! We lost him on accident for five minutes and he had a panic attack, how the  _ fuck _ do you think he'll respond to being told… being told…!"

Usopp glanced between them. Luffy was definitely in the wrong. But he was pretty sure his captain already knew that. He wasn't trying to defend himself. 

Sanji seemed to notice that. "You can't be so reckless with someone like him. You need to think about your actions."

Nami nodded in agreement. "I didn't tell you, but when you were gone for those ten minutes when Laboon ate us, Zoro didn't move or say a word until you came back. He can't  _ function _ without you. And now…"

Fuck, had it been that bad inside Laboon? Usopp hadn't noticed. He realized he also hadn't noticed his outbursts upsetting Zoro while they talked to Crocus. Or, longer ago, the fact that Zoro wasn't an empty shell.

He wondered what else he hadn't noticed. This was much worse than he'd thought. 

It was quiet. Sanji was still glaring at Luffy, and Nami was also looking at him expectantly. Usopp's gaze went to him as well.

"I… I was wrong. 'N stupid." Luffy said softly, breaking the silence. "Zoro didn't deserve any of that…"

"Damn right he didn't." Sanji growled. 

"What… what do I… how do I fix this?" Luffy looked to Nami. 

"Slowly." Nami said. "You're going to apologize, firstly. And then you're going to be patient with him. You were lucky to get that much trust that quickly, Luffy. Now you're starting at zero."

Luffy nodded slowly. 

Sanji was still glaring. Then, he turned on his heel and went into the galley, muttering something about cooking and keeping an eye on Zoro. 

The ship was already sailing away from Whiskey Peak. They'd got it underway while he'd been working on Zoro, apparently. There wasn't much to do, now. Nami glanced at the blue-haired girl and then went to care for her mikans, like she tended to when she was upset. 

Luffy glanced at Usopp for just a moment and then retreated to his special seat, like he always did to think.

That left Usopp alone with the girl and her bird. She was looking at him. 

Usopp really had nothing to do but worry about Zoro. The girl looked uncomfortable. It wouldn't hurt to talk to her. "...Hi… I'm Usopp." He said slowly. 

Her eyes went to him. "...Vivi."

He sat down against the railing and she joined him, her duck laying nearby to rest its head in her lap. 

"...nice duck." Usopp said. 

The duck quacked at him. The girl managed a very awkward, fake smile that Usopp didn't return. "Thanks. He's Carue."

"So, um. Why are you here?" Maybe he sounded rude, but with everything that had happened with Zoro, he had to wonder why Luffy had let her on board. 

"...I… I'm the princess of a kingdom called Alabasta. Your captain agreed to take me home."

"...oh."

"...what… happened to Mr. Bushido?" She asked.

Usopp sighed. "...He got shot… and punched… and bu-"

"I know that, I-... I mean… why is he…"

"I don't know. Luffy found him as a slave and broke him out. That's all we know."

"...oh." Vivi's voice was much quieter. 

They went silent after that. 

  
  


\- - -

When Zoro came to, his body felt sore and exhausted. He was laying on his back on something soft, his head cushioned by a pillow. His shoulder felt very, very hot. Most of him did, actually. He was sweating. He looked around, blinking the sleep away. He slowly sat up, mind foggy. Something hit his lap, and upon picking it up he realized it was a wet cloth. It must've been on his forehead. 

He let out a groan when he finally registered pain in his stomach, and his hand went to clutch at it. 

Something moved across the room - room? Room. He was in the galley. Cook was the one moving, and he was now facing Zoro, a concerned look on his face. Zoro quickly smiled for him - Cook shouldn't be concerned. 

"Zoro," Cook said softly. He approached him quickly and kneeled on the floor next to him. 

"Cook?" Zoro asked. His voice was scratchy.

"You're up." Cook said. "Feeling okay?"

Zoro turned to better face him, but winced and gripped his abdomen with a soft grunt. "Fine," he lied.

Cook didn't look impressed. "Zoro," he urged. 

Zoro's smile twitched a little and he looked away from him. "...hurts." he admitted. "...'s hot…" he continued.

"You have a fever." Cook said. "Usopp said to rest."

Zoro frowned. Why was he here? Why was he hurt? His mind was fuzzy. Eyebrows furrowed, he tried to focus. 

"Zoro?" Cook asked. Zoro looked up. Cook gently pushed him to lay back and replaced the cloth on his head. "Rest. Be still." Cook's voice was unclear, like he was in another room.

"Okay," Zoro said softly. His own voice felt far away. He closed his eyes. 

\- - -

When Zoro awoke next, he found himself shivering. He was too cold, too hot, too uncomfortable. Sweat clung to him and he turned on his side to try and curl up but that made his abdomen  _ hurt _ , and he let out a soft whine. It was dark, but there was lantern light nearby. Someone approached him and sat by him. 

"Zoro," a familiar voice said. Witch.

Zoro smiled for her. Sweat ran down his face. 

"You're doing good, Zoro. Just a bit longer and the fever will pass." Her words didn't make much sense. 

He opened his mouth to talk but his voice didn't really work. Witch left his side and soon reappeared with a cup. She helped him sit up just slightly and held it to his lips. She tilted it and he gratefully gulped the water down. 

She laid him back. "Now, Zoro, sleep it off, yeah?" Her voice was comforting and calm. "We'll be here with you."

He meant to say something, but his voice was a soft groan and then he slipped back into slumber. 

\- - -

When he woke the third time he was neither hot nor cold. Just warm. The world felt clearer. He sat up. No cloth on his forehead. A glance across the room revealed that he was still in the galley. Long-Nose sat at the table, tongue stuck out of his mouth as he worked in a sketchbook. 

The pain in Zoro's abdomen had abated some but it still ached.

Long-Nose looked up and got up from the table to approach him. "Hey, Zoro." He smiled, but it was awkward and sad and not real. Zoro didn't like that. 

He offered his own smile back. If Long-Nose was already worried he didn't need to add to that. 

"Feeling okay?" 

Zoro nodded. 

"Thirsty?"

Zoro nodded. Long-Nose stood and walked away, returning a few moments later with a glass.

"Can you hold it?"

Nodding again, Zoro accepted the glass. His hands felt a little weak and heavy, but he brought the cup to his lips and gulped the water down eagerly. Long-Nose took the cup back when he was done. 

"Sanji made soup. You up to eat?"

Zoro nodded again. He wished his body didn't feel so heavy. 

Long-Nose gave him a bowl of soup. It smelled really good, like everything Cook made. 

Zoro struggled with the spoon. It was smaller than the cup and kept slipping through his fingers, which felt clumsy and inadequate. 

Long-Nose took the bowl back. He dipped the spoon in and brought out some steaming broth. He blew on it and then moved the spoon to Zoro's mouth. Zoro didn't have the energy to hate himself for needing that, and accepted it. Long-Nose fed him until the soup was gone. 

"You have a good appetite… hopefully that stays down. You're recovering well, I think."

Recovering? What had happened? He vaguely remembered Cook and Witch watching over him, and now Long-Nose… 

Someone was missing. 

He looked up at Long-Nose. "Captain?" He asked. 

As soon as the word left his mouth he cringed. 

_ I'M NOT YOUR CAPTAIN! _

He sucked in air and his vision went foggy. It became hard to breathe. A hand slipped into his and he gripped it. 

Captain-

His Captain didn't want him, his Captain didn't want him,

_ I should never have taken you with us. _

His Captain hated him. His Captain wanted him gone. He couldn't breathe. 

He vaguely registered a weight settling next to him. 

He felt tears coming into his eyes. His throat was too small, he couldn't get enough air. Breathing in felt like slipping down a wall, he couldn't support himself, did one of his lungs have a hole? Was he going to die? Maybe he wouldn't mind that.

His Captain didn't want him.

His hands felt weak and his free one trembled. He struggled for air and felt wetness trickling down his cheeks. An arm went around his shoulders. Zoro leaned into the weight at his side, beginning to sob. He gasped between sobs and the fingers of his free hand threaded up into his hair to grip his scalp. He was sweating again, too hot. Under the blanket, his legs bent up so his heels could dig into the mat below him.

His Captain didn't want him.

He felt like he was choking. His shoulders heaved and his fingers dug into the side of his head. Vaguely he heard soft, muffled words. The arm around his shoulders squeezed him and the thumb of the hand holding his began to gently rub circles in it. 

His Captain didn't want him.

It felt like hours, during which he only sobbed and struggled to breathe. His gasping was ragged and he was exhausted.

"Breathe with me, Zoro. In, hold it… out."

The muffled words repeated. Zoro tried to do as they said. His lungs weren't working. He wondered if the air was even getting there. Was his throat blocked? 

His Captain didn't want him.

He felt the body next to him breathing. He breathed along with it, though his sobbing interrupted the pattern. 

It was Long-Nose next to him, he realized. Long-Nose's voice kept telling him to breathe and he clung to it. 

His Captain didn't want him. 

He breathed shakily. After what felt like forever, each breath seemed to fill his lungs more. 

His Captain didn't want him. 

He bawled into Long-Nose's chest. 

\- - -

Usopp had had panic attacks before. Being the way he was, it would have been a wonder if he hadn't. But he'd never had one that seemed to drag on and on like Zoro's did. 

He remembered his earlier years, when his mom was still around. Whenever he cried, she'd be there, and her steady breathing had always comforted him. After she died, he'd always longed to cry into her chest again, to be held in her arms. He'd longed for comfort, but had always been alone.

He did what he wished would have been done for him. He simply held Zoro close and breathed. The holding seemed to help, if Zoro's nuzzling his shoulder and gripping his hand said anything. When Zoro had awoken, no longer so dazed and feverish, Usopp had known it wouldn't be long. He'd known this would happen, and he'd been ready. He'd kept his eyes on Zoro. He was done not noticing things. 

Even now, over an hour after he awoke, Zoro was still trembling. His body was exhausted. He was limp in Usopp's hold, head against his chest. After his panic attack he'd simply cried. He cried for a long time and Usopp let him.

Now, the uneven sobbing was dying down. Zoro's body felt heavy and exhausted and he relaxed into Usopp's chest. 

It was a little while before Sanji came in to start on dinner, and by that point Zoro wasn't quite asleep, but Usopp had him lying down, head in his lap. Zoro's eyes were closed. 

Sanji looked at him upon entering. "He wake up?"

Usopp nodded. In his lap, Zoro's eyes opened. He glanced at Sanji and attempted a weak smile. 

"Oh, you're awake… Hi, Zoro."

Zoro didn't respond. 

His hand was still in Usopp's and Usopp had continued rubbing circles in it with his thumb. 

Usopp wanted to tell Sanji that Zoro had remembered, that he'd just cried into his chest for over an hour. But Zoro was still awake, and he didn't want to remind him. 

\- - -

Nami was out sitting on the deck when Usopp emerged from the galley. Sanji had gone in a half an hour ago. She wondered why he hadn't come out sooner. 

She didn't have to get his attention, it seemed, because he was already approaching her. He leaned on the railing next to her chair. "He, uh. Remembered."

She didn't know whether she was glad to hear that or not. For one thing there was no more waiting for the unavoidable moment (it was late afternoon two days after that night), but for another… she didn't know if Zoro could recover from this. 

"Um. Had a panic attack. Like we thought."

"You couldn't get us?"

"Didn't, uh. Didn't wanna walk out on him."

That was a good call on his part, probably. "What did you do?"

"Held him and breathed… it helped. I think. Once he was breathing again he just cried."

"Is he asleep again?"

Usopp nodded. "He laid there for a long time before sleeping though. So I stayed with him. He's really tired."

Zoro had already been fighting a fever almost ever since Usopp treated him. With all that blood loss he'd be especially tired, too. This emotional stress on top of that… it was no wonder he'd been sleeping so long. 

"When should Luffy see him?" Usopp asked. 

Nami didn't really know. 

\- - -

Sanji figured, when he went in to cook to find Usopp cradling Zoro's head and holding his hand, that Zoro had awoken and, well, remembered. Even with all that had happened the poor guy tried to smile at him, even though the corners of his mouth dropped and his eyes slipped shut and his head sank back into Usopp's lap immediately afterward. 

It took a long time after that for Zoro to fall asleep. Sanji talked quietly to Usopp about nothing in particular in the meantime until their swordsman drifted off and Usopp tucked him back into the pillow and blankets on the mat. 

"Keep checking on him. If he wakes up make sure he knows you're there."

Sanji nodded. He hadn't been the one to cuddle Zoro normally, but without Luffy's help anytime in the near future and with Zoro's added psychological stress, he supposed he had quite a bit of slack to pick up. And he'd do it gladly. He was quite protective of Zoro. They all were, really, at this point. The man was an absolute ray of sunshine when he was truly happy. He was strong, eager to learn, and easy to be around. Zoro fit in wonderfully with the crew. They all loved him like they loved each other, and Sanji felt he'd really been beginning to return that love, to really feel it. 

He was still angry with Luffy. The idiot really didn't think things through, and it could have cost them a lot. May still cost them a lot. He couldn't forgive Luffy for that very easily. He knew this was weighing down on the boy heavily, knew by Luffy's reluctance to leave the Merry's figurehead, by the way he avoided interacting too much with any of them. Luffy felt horrible about the whole thing, but that wouldn't change what he'd done. Zoro had been set back quite a lot. Sanji didn't hate Luffy for that, and he didn't glare or shout at him again, but he couldn't be as amicable with him as he normally would. His interactions with the boy for the past day had been limited to bringing him meals.

Zoro seemed fine with him and Usopp and Nami, but there was no telling how he'd react to seeing their captain again. For now they needed to keep the two apart until Zoro had the energy for such an interaction, and make sure Zoro knew they did indeed want him around. 

Sanji was so glad Luffy's words hadn't made Zoro think  _ none _ of them wanted him. At least Zoro had the rest of them, even if not having Luffy would leave a hole none of them could fill. 

Zoro didn't wake up while Sanji cooked, though Sanji glanced at him often just in case. There was only so much sleeping one could do, and Sanji knew it wouldn't be long until Zoro woke again. He'd be ready for it. Zoro wouldn't feel alone if Sanji had any say.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> At least poor Zoro has his Witch, Cook, and Long-Nose. Hopefully he'll be okay when he sees Luffy again. There's only so long they can be kept apart. 
> 
> Comment please, I love comments, anything will make me happy, even criticism :D


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Apology time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, I'm back again! Sorry this is short. It just feels complete to me how it is! I hope it's decent!

It was rainy and cloudy and dull today, but Luffy didn't care. He didn't want to leave his spot on the figurehead. The rain showers on top of the light breeze cooled his body off and he found it calming despite the shivers that kept running through him. He didn't want to think too hard, and the grey, misty horizon and suggestions of waves and fog swirling around in it were easy to get lost in. His eyes caught raindrops and followed them down into the sea every few moments.

Soon, someone would come and get him. Soon, he'd see Zoro again. He could face a renowned pirate head-on and not bat an eye. He could get sucked into a whirlpool without a care in the world. He could take any weather, any physical hardship the world threw at him. But he feared this. He'd longed to just be near the man for the past five days. He'd wished to be with him, to help him. But now he was the cause of the swordsman's pain. He was the bad guy and he'd hurt his own nakama. He was the type of person he hated. He feared what would happen in that room. 

He knew what he was going to do. He'd known for at least a day. But that didn't stop his heart from racing when he considered what  _ could  _ happen. He'd always faced everything so fearlessly, so determined to leave no regret. When his nakama were in danger he'd confidently take on anything, anyone. He was determined. But when it was his own fault that one of his nakama was hurting, he couldn't shake the feeling of dread in the pit of his stomach. 

Was this how Usopp felt about physical danger?

Luffy could take fights, could take bruises, could take beatings. What he couldn't take was being alone. He wouldn't be alone if Zoro left, but his precious people just… they just  _ had  _ to be near him. Because if they weren't, then what was the point of this? What was the point of being a pirate?

But he'd pushed Zoro away. He'd failed that trust that had been placed in him and he feared the consequences. Feared that he'd hurt his swordsman beyond repair. His fingernails dug into the wood of the Merry. He'd felt so alone the past few days with everyone worrying over Zoro. He felt he deserved that. Especially after Sanji's words, he knew how badly he had screwed up. 

Footsteps approached him.  _ Oh, no. I'm not ready. _

But the footsteps didn't stop, and neither did the approaching smell of cigarette smoke despite the rain, nor the voice, tense with forced calm: "Captain. They're ready in there."

He'd rushed into so many fights blind. He'd fought and won and never doubted himself. He wouldn't back down from this. As a captain, it was his duty not to. He had been wrong. And it was his duty to admit that. To apologize and ask for forgiveness. Even if Zoro didn't understand, didn't get it. 

He wouldn't try to put it off. He nodded his head and slid off the figurehead. He followed his cook into the galley. They entered and Luffy saw Zoro, held close by Usopp and Nami. As soon as he entered, Zoro's eyes were on him. The world went dark other than his swordsman, who pulled a little bit away from his nakama and closer to Luffy, only to fall forward to his knees and bow his head, body shaking. Luffy's eyes widened. Zoro was going to beg,  _ Zoro _ was going to bow to  _ Luffy _ and that was so, so wrong. Zoro had been nothing short of wonderful. Luffy was at fault. 

Luffy shot forward and stuck his hand out. He caught Zoro's head before Zoro could press it against the ground in submission. Zoro flinched badly and made a tiny noise. Luffy stared at him.

"Stand up, Zoro." Luffy murmured. His voice felt so weak. But it should. The roles should be reversed. Zoro needed to know who was really in the wrong. "...Please," he added.

Zoro froze and Luffy feared he'd screwed this up horribly. But the swordsman slowly moved from his near-prostrate position to kneel, and then to stand on shaky legs. Luffy met his eyes for a moment from his place still squatted on the ground, and what he saw there made something in his chest twist up. Zoro was afraid. There was desperation and confusion in his eyes. Zoro didn't do anything wrong. Luffy did. Zoro needed to know that. 

Luffy let his knees fall forward to kneel. He placed his hands on the smooth wood of the galley floor and bowed his head, pressing the top of it against the floorboards. 

"I… I made a mistake, Zoro. I screwed up. I wasn't a good captain." His voice still felt pathetic, but he wouldn't stutter. He wouldn't falter. He had to apologize and of that he was certain. He felt the hot tears coming to his eyes but he wouldn't let them fall. He was begging for forgiveness, not pity. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Zoro. Please… Please, forgive me."  _ I don't deserve it. I don't deserve your trust but I can't lose you, I can't. I need you,  _ he didn't say. He wasn't asking for pity. Zoro shouldn't pity him. It would be wrong. "I never should have hurt you, Zoro. I should've trusted you."

Zoro didn't respond. Luffy's chest and throat hurt. He wouldn't cry, though. He wouldn't. "Please. Please, will you still call me Captain?"

It felt like so much to ask. He hated that it felt like so much to ask, hated that this pain was because of him. He couldn't kick someone's ass and save the day because he was the bad guy and here he was, asking to be forgiven just like that. It was so stupid.

The room was absolutely silent. Luffy did not look up, did not move. He wouldn't move until Zoro gave an answer. 

It felt like an eternity. 

"You…" Zoro's voice sounded weak and scratchy. "Want me?"

"Yes," Luffy whispered. 

Luffy heard a footstep, then a  _ thud _ nearby. Hands moved under his shoulders and pushed him upright. Muscular arms wrapped around him and he felt too shocked to return the embrace.

"Don't…" the voice was soft and uncertain. "Don't bow, Captain."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I tried it from Nami's perspective and from Zoro's. Didn't work. Surprisingly Luffy came to the rescue. 
> 
> Problem with this is that I take absolutely forever and then I actually get a start I like and finish things in one day. So I never have any idea how long it'll take, aaa
> 
> As always please comment I love comments. Tell me you hate my work and I will still be happy to hear it hshsgg


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again! Once again I had no idea how to wrote for days and then suddenly knew exactly what to do!

Zoro nuzzled into his Captain in their place on the bunk room's couch. They hadn't let go of each other since Luffy apologized, since Luffy  _ bowed to him _ , and he was still somewhat reeling from it. He couldn't yet fully process what had happened, and what it all meant. Whenever his Captain looked at him, he felt a little spike of panic, of desperation to make sure the look wasn't one of hatred or anger. It never was, and his Captain was warm and welcoming and affectionate, maybe even more so than before what had happened.

"Hey Zoro?" Luffy's voice was soft and close to Zoro's ear and in the silence of the room Zoro felt sheepishly proud that the voice was only meant for him to hear. 

"Yes, Captain?" Saying the title again felt so good after even only a few days without it. It sent a nervous rush of energy through him, and it felt forbidden though he knew it wasn't.  _ Is it still okay for me to call you that? _

"If I ever hurt you, you gotta hit me." Luffy murmured. 

Zoro blinked into the darkness. His mouth opened but he had no idea what to say. He shut it and remained silent. 

Zoro didn't want to hit his Captain. 

"I talked to Nami 'n she says you gotta know… gotta know I'm not perfect. 'N I'm wrong sometimes. A lot."

Zoro heard how Luffy's breathing felt shaky. 

"I don't wanna hurt my nakama. 'N I'm scared most of hurting Zoro. Sanji said I gotta be more careful. So I c'n be a good captain. So… Zoro… if I make you hurt… you gotta hit me. Cause 'm not always right 'n I'm not careful." Luffy's chin nuzzled into Zoro's head. "N I don't… I don't listen to words."

Zoro had to take a minute to process that. His Captain  _ wanted  _ him to hit him? Because he didn't want to hurt him. Why? How could he hit his Captain?

"Zoro?" Luffy pulled away and Zoro's heart jumped in fear. Had he messed this up?

No. No, Luffy had pulled away but now his black eyes were looking right into Zoro's. "I need you. Cause I'll listen if it's you." 

Zoro fought the urge to look away. Luffy needed him. 

"I… I will, Captain." 

Luffy's arms tightened around him and Zoro felt tension he hadn't even noticed leave the rubber man's body. Luffy's chin nuzzled into the top of his head again and he in turn pressed his forehead into his chest. 

"Thank you, Zoro." There was a smile in Luffy's voice. Zoro felt his own lips twitch up at the sound. He then blinked. He hadn't been smiling that whole time. 

It didn't occur to him to apologize. 

\- - -

The agent dropped the auctioneer. Even in the darkness of the auction house, the blood visibly darkened the floor and the blade glinted dangerously. "Sold him, huh?" He muttered. 

He stalked out of the building. 

\- - -

The next island was in sight. If Miss All-Sunday was to be trusted, its name was Little Garden. Vivi watched the dark blotch on the horizon slowly grow. She jumped when something settled over her bare shoulders and turned her head to see Nami, her temporary shipmate. The weight was a warm jacket, now keeping the rather chilly morning air at bay. 

"It'll be cold until we reach the island's weather zone. That'll be an hour or so. That tank top won't be enough."

Vivi smiled and thanked her, and the two stood side by side near the railing. She quite liked Nami. The girl was strong and kind and understood Vivi's drive, her mission to heal the pain of her people and to free her country.

They stood in amicable silence for a while before Nami spoke. "I bet we can all eat breakfast together this morning."

Vivi looked at her. "You think so? Wouldn't that make Zoro uncomfortable?"

"No. Unfamiliar people don't bother him, really. And if he knows we all trust you, it'll be fine."

Vivi hadn't seen Zoro since six days ago when he fought for her, and she somewhat feared him. His eyes had glinted with dangerous, animalistic anger that night and the princess found she feared meeting them again despite what the other members of the crew had told her about him.

She and Nami stood there by the railing for an hour or so until the air warmed up with the rising sun and the pleasant cool turned to stifling humidity. Little Garden, if that was what it was, must be a summer island. 

Zoro, Luffy and Usopp had emerged from below deck together a while ago, and were now in the galley. The smell of the breakfast Sanji was making wafted over to them, and Nami took Vivi's hand to lead her to join them after several minutes.

Vivi heard Usopp's voice cheerfully recounting some ridiculous story and Luffy ooh-ing and aah-ing before the door opened. Sanji glanced at them from in front of the stove and he smiled. "Good morning, Nami-san! Vivi-chan!" 

Vivi smiled at him, but her attention was grabbed by the green-haired man at the table, who was staring at her. He didn't quite make eye contact. He was smiling dumbly, which she found a little eerie. She couldn't read his eyes, but they were still so different than the murderous ones from that night. Despite the difference, she shill felt an itch in the back of her head at the sight. His expression was just…  _ wrong.  _

Luffy was sitting close, right next to him, and he grinned in delight upon seeing her. "Zoro! That's Vivi! She's sailing with us! She's a princess!" 

And that seemed to be that. Zoro relaxed and Vivi felt like a weight was lifted off her and she realized that the swordsman's stare had been judging her. Nami smiled at her and led her to the table. Usopp continued with his story.

"I knew he'd be fine with you." Nami smiled at her. 

The energy in the room was completely different than what Vivi had become used to. Luffy was the most drastic change. He was  _ loud. _ He laughed a lot, and he never stopped moving. He would shift to sit cross-legged on the table's bench or crouch on it or sit with one or both of his legs on the outside. His hands kept messing with anything and everything nearby, first a paper napkin until it was folded every way possible and then ripped to tiny pieces, and then a glass cup he'd emptied of fruit juice, the rim of which he held between his teeth and did not let go of even to talk, which he did quite a bit. He talked fast and loud and when he got especially excited his voice would swell up and seem to bubble over with joy and Vivi didn't understand how someone could look so truly, unabashedly happy.

He'd been so still and pensive before. She almost hadn't believed he was seventeen. She would have thought he was older. But now? Now she thought it was ridiculous that someone like him could be over fourteen. 

She found she liked this different Luffy. His excitement was contagious, and she found herself smiling and laughing with him at silly things. He was hardly the same person as last night. 

The meal passed and Vivi's view of the crew changed. Usopp was not quiet and awkward. When he'd spoken to her before, his voice was soft and timid, tinged with a lot of sadness and worry. Now? There was none of that. He grinned widely at everyone around the table, especially Luffy and Zoro, as he gestured wildly with his hands in the midst of some fantastic story. He was very creative and she found herself invested in the tale despite its obvious fabricated nature. His voice rose and fell confidently and his movements were the opposite of meek and unassuming.

Sanji wasn't quite as calm and collected as she first thought he was. He smiled and chuckled at the more ridiculous parts of Usopp's stories and even bickered with him passionately about the validity of the events. The way he treated Vivi and Nami changed drastically, too. Before, he had been quiet and respectful. Now, however, he quite literally danced around them and served them their food with exaggerated flourishes that she couldn't help but giggle at. When Vivi thanked him, his hands went up into the air and then clutched at his heart for a dramatic, ridiculous yell of "I don't deserve such a high beauty's gratitude!!" 

Nami was much more cheerful. Rather than a tired, sad tone, her voice held energy and joy Vivi didn't know a voice was capable of. She laughed at Usopp's stories and Luffy's reactions, and even jokingly flirted with Sanji, and Vivi also found that she was quite strong. She got rough with the boys when they got out of hand and  _ were those punches somehow actions of endearment? _

As chaotic as it all was, she knew she preferred the crew this way. 

However, through the whole ridiculous meal, her eyes kept being drawn to Zoro. His smile, while at times edging on and even crossing into the realm of genuine, became dull and fake at other times. His expression didn't change even when Luffy accidentally elbowed or kneed him with his excited movements. Seeing it put Vivi on edge. She'd seen that kind of forced smile somewhere. She couldn't put her finger on when.

When the meal was over, Luffy pulled Zoro to the figurehead to watch the island get closer and closer. Now it would be less than a half an hour before they docked. The ship's captain was in his swordsman's lap, but he kept shifting to sit in multitudes of different positions. Vivi watched, amazed that he had so much energy and also amazed at Zoro's lack of reaction to any of this.

As Vivi watched, she listened to Sanji and Usopp arguing about something and Nami screaming at them to stop. Every other morning, even when they were sailing the ship, the deck had been quiet and dull. Now it felt alive. Vivi stared at Zoro's back on the ship's figurehead. How could this one member's relationship with the captain change the whole crew's energy so drastically? 

Luffy was suddenly sliding off the figurehead, pulling Zoro behind him by his hand. "Sanji, Sanji, Sanji, Sanji!! I need a pirate lunchbox, I gotta go on that island!"

Sanji did not look surprised at all. A fond smile tugged at his lips and Vivi watched him look at Luffy. "You'll have to take someone with you."

"Will Zoro come??" Luffy's head swiveled to look at his swordsman, who nodded. 

"I'd like to go, too, if that's alright." Vivi smiled.

Luffy's face lit up. "Yeah! I wanna go on an adventure with Vivi, too!!"

Maybe she could interact with Zoro enough to understand.

\- - -

"Stolen? By who?"

"U-uh! Some kid! Some kid in a straw hat!!"

The agent reached into his coat to grab the poster he'd gotten from a news coo a week or so back. A bright, blinding smile on a young, cheerful face greeted him, grinning up from the paper. 

"This kid?"

The man nodded fast. "Yes! He-"

"That's all I needed." For the second time that day his knife ripped through another person's flesh. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope that was enjoyable! Tell me if you saw any glaring issues! As always, comment please I am desperate for validation and comments make me so happy,,,  
> Also, when I write on docs I put extra space between each paragraph because it makes it easier to read but on here it already has that extra space. Is it better to leave all that space in or should I take it out?


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> GOD this took FOREVER I am SO SORRY!  
> I hope it's alright, though!

Zoro watched his Captain fidget and pace around the deck, feeling nervous himself at the sight of his impatient groaning and sighing. He bit at the inside of his cheek and fiddled with the fabric of his shirt and inside the pockets of his pants. He suddenly felt Luffy's eyes on him and he stiffened. Should he have been doing something? His captain wouldn't be angry, would he?

Footsteps approached him and suddenly Luffy was quite literally climbing him. He came to rest on his shoulders and Zoro relaxed now that he had a purpose: hold Luffy. Luffy's legs swung and drummed gently against Zoro's chest. 

"Zooo-roooo, what do you think's on the island?? Anything cool? Meat?? I bet there's meat!!" He felt fingers playing with his hair as Luffy continued. "I wanna eat a big boar! Ooh! Or a tiger!!"

Zoro smiled, happy that his Captain was happy. He'd missed this feeling. Missed feeling so close to his captain. His sun. He'd never fail him again. Or. He didn't really know. Luffy had bowed to him, had  _ said  _ that it wasn't Zoro's fault, but as wrong as it was, he was having a hard time believing his Captain. 

Zoro stiffened again at feeling a sudden presence behind them, and listened for its approach. Luffy quieted from the small movement and Zoro winced at having alerted him of his concern, but he still felt a need to know who was coming. It wasn't one of his nakama - he knew the way they walked, the way their footsteps sounded on the deck, and soon out of the corner of his eye he saw the new person. The Princess. Zoro didn't trust her, but Captain and everyone else liked her, so he didn't hate her either. He glanced at her and immediately trained his eyes on the railing in front of him when he saw that she was looking at him, too. 

"Oh!! Vivi!! Zoro'n I were talking about what meat's on this island!! What do you think!??" 

Zoro could hear the smile in Luffy's voice, and it made him relax some. He still kept the Princess in his peripheral, listening and observing her as she gave a little laugh. "I don't know. Could be anything. Maybe more of those weird birds." Her voice had the same fondness as Witch's. Maybe a little less so, but it was there. Still, Zoro would keep an eye on her. 

"Oh! Ohh! I wanna eat one of those!! Didn't they look yummy!?" Luffy squirmed on Zoro's shoulders. 

The galley door opened and Zoro turned away from the railing this time to see cook standing in the doorway. "Oi, Luffy. Lunchboxes're ready. And water for Carue."

Luffy pretty much backflipped off Zoro's shoulders with a whoop and somehow ended up swiping the boxes from Cook within half a second. He was back on Zoro's shoulders in another half a second, holding the food close. "YES!! THANK YOU, SANJI!!" He yelled and Zoro's smile widened.

Pretty soon Luffy was excitedly squirming and patting Zoro's head. "Let's go, let's go, Zoro!!"

Zoro nodded and hopped off the ship onto the shore. Princess jumped off beside them, riding on her duck. Luffy was humming, now, and Zoro listened to the off-tune melody, smiling pleasantly at the sound of Luffy's good mood. Today was just such a good day. 

They walked for a few minutes before Luffy suddenly jumped off Zoro's back and grabbed his hand in one fluid movement and dragged him over to a swampy looking area where he stuck his other hand in the water and pulled out a large seashell-looking creature. Zoro blinked and stared at it.

Luffy stared as well, grinning and giggling. "Zoro! Look! It's a squid! A clam! A clam-squid!!" He shook the thing and Zoro found himself nodding. It was indeed a weird clam-squid-thing. Luffy's grin widened. At Zoro's agreement? Zoro felt a tingle in his chest at that idea.

His captain then held the thing up and waved it around. "Vivi! Viiii-viiii!! Look! Clam-squid!!" He laughed.

Princess came towards them and looked at the creature. "Huh. Looks like an Ammonite, if you ask me."

"Clam-squid, right??"

Princess simply nodded, lips quirked up in a smile. 

Suddenly, the duck let out a loud quack that sounded like a scream and Zoro jumped. Luffy looked around and froze, staring at something above and behind Zoro. "Oh." 

Zoro felt his heart rate pick up from being startled. He turned around, hand leaving Luffy's and joining his other one on the hilts of his swords as he lowered his body, ready to fight.

"Why's there a sea king on land!??" He heard Luffy yell. His Captain didn't sound particularly scared, but Zoro couldn't help feeling intimidated when he looked up to see the huge creature that rose above the treetops. 

"It's a dinosaur!!" Princess yelled. 

"A dinosaur!??" Luffy shouted. He sounded so thrilled that Zoro had to relax a little. Luffy wasn't afraid, so he shouldn't be, either, he told himself.

"This is a prehistoric island!!"

"Huh??" Luffy asked, and Zoro felt the same way.  _ Prehistoric? _

Princess began speaking again and Zoro tried to listen, but his hand was grabbed and he saw Luffy's other arm stretch out up, up, up to the creature' neck and suddenly they were flying. He gripped his Captain's hand tightly until they both hit the hard, scaly surface that was its skin. Zoro grabbed and held on tight and saw his Captain do the same.

He was pulled along as Luffy shimmied up the dinosaur's neck, laughing all the while. Zoro smiled wider than before, encouraged by his Captain's joy. This… this  _ was _ pretty cool. 

They came to a stop standing on the creature's head and Zoro joined his Captain in surveying their surroundings. 

"Ya-hoo!! Isn't this great, Zoro!!? I'd wanna eat lunch up here!! Ooh, and look at those hole-y rocks!! And volcanoes!!"

Zoro did look, and he felt his mouth fall open a little. He really liked this view. "...Pretty." he said softly. Luffy's head turned to face him. Oh. Had he not been expected to say something? Was that wrong?

But Luffy was grinning and his grin stretched wider still when Zoro met his eyes with his own growing smile, happy that his Captain was happy. God, it really was such a good day. 

\- - -

Vivi couldn't stop staring at the swordsman. Something about him was off putting and she didn't yet know what, but there was a tickle in the back of her mind that told her she  _ should  _ know, that she  _ did  _ know, she just couldn't summon the knowledge. And it was bothering her, to the point where she didn't care as much as she maybe should have about their seemingly prehistoric surroundings.

Every time she looked, Zoro had that vaguely familiar forced smile on his face and despite it Luffy kept talking to him about anything and everything. Vivi couldn't say she understood. Every few minutes she thought she maybe caught a glimpse of something genuine, something  _ real _ , but when she looked harder it was always gone. She couldn't help the thin frown on her face. 

The dinosaur was certainly a surprise, and when it ate both Luffy and Zoro, Vivi found herself much less worried than maybe she should have been. Zoro was a monster with those swords of his from what she'd seen, and Luffy was nothing to scoff at either. 

That was another thing that bothered her about Zoro, though, she mused as the dinosaur's head was abruptly lopped off and the two figures fell out of its decapitated throat - he was so obviously strong, so vicious on a battlefield, and yet when she'd been around him there was little to  _ nothing _ she could gauge about his emotions from his face. He obviously cared for his crew, right? Or was that violence and protectiveness learned and forced? He didn't seem to show much of an affinity for any of them when he was calm, simply letting the crew worry over him and cuddle him from what she'd seen. She had yet to see him really reciprocate.

She couldn't bring herself to be surprised or terrified at the sight of the giant, still staring at the figure in its hand, muscular and topped off with green.

_ Where had she seen that smile before? _ She knew that was where her answers would lie. She absently stroked Carue's neck - he was badly trembling from the sight of the giant - and continued to comb her mind for answers. 

She gently urged the poor duck to walk, to follow the giant to his home - he'd invited them and Vivi saw no reason to turn him down, perhaps a little uncaring about that particular problem in favor of thinking about Zoro. Luffy didn't seem too afraid of the giant anyways and Vivi could hear him chatting animatedly with him even from so far below. Zoro's voice did not join the conversation, but that didn't surprise Vivi. She'd heard maybe five words out of his mouth since meeting him. He seemed so quiet and docile, such a stark contrast from the monster at Whiskey peak. 

She sat on a log as Zoro and Luffy took seats on top of a giant, steaming piece of meat, the latter immediately tucking in and carrying on a conversation with the giant, whose name was apparently Dorry, mouth full. In return for the meat it seemed that Luffy had offered him his pirate lunchbox, and the giant seemed kind enough when he downed the whole thing in one tiny (compared to his gargantuan size) bite and complimented its taste. 

Luffy simply laughed at that and vaguely threatened him - "Good! If you didn't like it I'd have to kick your ass!" - and Vivi found herself wondering now he could be so calm about the giant. Slowly, she had given up on her inward search for answers and realized that oh, they were eating a meal with a giant, a very strong giant from the looks of things, and they had no idea what he may want with them. 

Vivi wasn't really a brave person. She had just been sidetracked. Now, staring up at the giant, she found that she was indeed quite afraid of him. How could Luffy and him just… get along so well? She felt a nervous prickle at her scalp and she sat completely still. Carue beside her seemed to be in much the same position, trying to be as quiet as possible as he slurped from the little barrel round his neck.

"So why're you living out here anyways? Don't you have a village to live in?" Luffy asked, and that caused Vivi to blink because she'd vaguely wondered the same thing. The giants, as far as she knew, had a country they all lived in together. Elbaf, if her memory served her right.

"Oh, I do. It's called Elbaf, a country for warriors. It's on the Grand Line… but my village has a law. If a quarrel breaks out and we cannot solve it on our own, we beseech our god Elbaf for his judgement. Elbaf is just and he'll ensure the victory of the righteous. 

"I happen to have gotten involved in a quarrel myself and this island has served as a battleground for me and another giant. But it's been a hundred years and still, we just can't seem to settle our duel!" The giant threw his head back and laughed heartily. 

_ A hundred years?? _ Vivi found herself taken aback. 

"A hundred years!!?" Luffy yelled. Vivi wasn't the only one surprised, it seemed. 

Dorry laughed again, a strange laugh Vivi had never heard the likes of before. "Gegyagyagyagya! Don't be surprised! We giants live thrice as long as you humans, so it's not such a long time!" He explained and that did not answer any questions at all. 

"But even if you live longer-" oh, she was yelling. Had Luffy's impulsiveness already rubbed off so much on her? "How could you still want to fight after a hundred years? Is there even a point!?" She shouted up at him and then stared, vaguely regretting her actions but also vaguely hoping he'd give a better answer. She'd done a lot of being confused today. She glanced at Zoro and Luffy and jumped quite a bit when there was suddenly a loud boom and the ground shook. 

"Looks like it's about time." Dorry brushed Vivi's question off. "Don't know when it happened, but that volcano became a signal for battle." He stood up, towering over them even more, now. 

"Hey, wait! You can't possibly hate each other so much you'd try to kill each other for a century! What was even the reason for your qu-" a greasy rubber hand smelling of dinosaur meat covered her mouth and she was interrupted. 

"Stop! It's not about that anymore." Luffy said, facing away from her. 

The giant nodded, readying his sword and shield. "That's right. It's about pride."

Another hulking figure appeared from the trees. "And we forgot the reason…" 

A resounding clash rang out over the island. "Ages ago!!" The giant yelled. 

Next to her, Luffy suddenly dropped onto his back. Next to him, Zoro sat down cross-legged. 

"What's wrong?" She asked. 

"I'm beat." Luffy answered simply. "They're just so big!"

Zoro's face was upturned, watching the giants fight. He seemed vaguely interested. 

"You like 'em a lot, huh, Zoro?" Luffy asked after a moment of simply watching. Zoro's head moved in a short nod in response. 

Luffy laughed. 

The giants battled it out until they reached a stalemate and Vivi watched them begin to banter like old friends. After a short exchange, Dorry returned to them and sat, a barrel of rum in his huge hand. 

Luffy and him talked in that same relaxed tone for several more minutes, until, quite suddenly, there was a loud boom and smoke erupted from Dorry's mouth. Both Zoro and Luffy jumped. Vivi followed them to stand near the giant's head where he lay flat on his back. 

"Who could have done this!?" Luffy was yelling. "This is the rum from our ship!"

"The rum exploded in his stomach! Do you think the other giant could have-" 

Luffy cut her off, sliding off the giant's chest (Zoro was quick to follow him) to get right in her face. "NO! Are you blind!? Two warriors like this would never stoop so low!!"

The ground seemed to tremble as Dorry sat up, face and chest blackened from the explosion. He wobbled a little and glared down at them. Vivi felt like an insect. "Then who could it have been… except you little runts?" 

Vivi felt her body tense up in fear. Zoro's hands went to his swords again. 

"It wasn't Brogy. We are proud warriors of Elbaf." Dorry continued. "Who else could it be if it's not you?"

Luffy's body lowered into a ready stance, muscles seemingly spring loaded and ready to leap into action. His hand stretched out and waved Zoro off. The swordsman's hands tightened on his swords but then he obeyed, relaxing and stepping back. 

"Luffy, let's run! We can't do anything right now!"

Luffy shook his head. His hand removed the straw hat from his head and pushed it into Zoro's arms. "Hold this for me."

"Yes, Captain." Zoro said. His voice sounded a little forced and his fingers twitched on the straw hat. His eyes were directed up at the giant. He looked stiff, like remaining still felt wrong.  _ He doesn't want to stay out of the fight,  _ Vivi realized. The dumb smile was now plastered fully to his face as if he was focusing on it. 

"Luffy! You can't seriously want to fight him alone! The size difference is too big!"

Luffy did not answer her. He cracked his knuckles. "Sorry about this, mister. But I'm gonna have to shut you up."

Talking to him was useless. Her eyes went up to the giant. "Mr. Dorry! We don't know anything about the rum, please understand! We shouldn't fight! You need to rest or you'll hurt yourself further!!"

The giant gave no indication he heard. 

"You've got me riled up, boy! That was a dirty trick you played!"

"Zoro! Protect Vivi!" She heard Luffy's voice say, and in an instant a strong arm was around her waist and she was yanked in one direction. The giant's sword embedded itself in the ground right where she'd previously been standing. She looked up at Zoro's face. 

He was sweating, quite a bit. That smile seemed even more uncomfortable and stiff, like his most important focus was simply keeping it up. To keep himself from fighting? His fingers kept fidgeting on the hat, like staying still as he was was a chore.

Luffy went for a punch but Dorry's shield pounded him into the ground. Zoro tensed and pulled to one side, avoiding the shower of dirt and grass it sent their way. The arm was tight around her waist. "Captain," Zoro whispered. The smile looked painful. 

Luffy's arms grabbed a tree at the edge of the clearing, rocketing him out of the fray, but he was soon shot right back in, yelling quite loudly. His body whizzed through the air like a cannonball and struck Dorry right in the stomach. 

The giant fell to his knees and Zoro's whole body seemed to relax. 

"You have the power of a devil fruit?" The giant wheezed. "I may have underestimated you…" 

The ground shook when he fell face forward. As short as the fight was, Vivi was impressed and in awe. 

Zoro set her down and went running to where Luffy was sitting, panting. Vivi quickly followed and watched Zoro give the hat back and sit next to his captain. 

"Is he alright?" Luffy asked, pushing his treasure down over messy, sweaty hair.

Vivi looked at the giant. "I… I think so. If you hadn't done that he wouldn't have stopped."

Luffy placed his hands on his knees, elbows bent out and mouth turned down in a frown. "I'm very angry." He said simply. 

"Huh?" Vivi asked intelligently

"The other giant wouldn't do that. And my friends wouldn't do it for sure!" Luffy glared at the fallen giant, but that wasn't where his anger was directed. "There must be someone else on the island."

Vivi joined Luffy and Zoro in sitting. Zoro was looking at her and she tried to ignore his heavy gaze. He was still smiling, but it was much less tense. 

The three of them remained in heavy silence for a long while until the volcano erupted once more and the giant was suddenly on his feet. Vivi was surprised he'd moved so fast, but the three of them quickly stood up as well, wary of him now that he and Luffy had fought. 

The giant boulder behind them was soon lifted off the ground and Dorry struggled to hold it up. Luffy began to approach him but suddenly the boulder fell and kicked up a dust cloud and Vivi could no longer see him. 

She could, however, hear him give an alarmed cry and see Zoro immediately sprint towards where he'd been. "Luffy!?"

The dust began to clear and Vivi saw Luffy's upper half on the ground, stuck out from under the gargantuan rock. He was struggling. "Hey!! What the hell!? Take this thing off me!!"

Zoro was at his side in a flash, but from the looks of it he had no idea what to do. Dorry's sword glinted as he moved it to point down at them and Zoro stood protectively in front of his captain, glaring up at him and half-drawing one of his swords. 

"I can't stop." Dorry's voice boomed. Even though it's been a hundred years and we are still fighting… We must finish what we started. We can't escape. That would be escaping from being true warriors. If I lose that, I won't be myself anymore."

Dorry turned away, pulling his sword back. "I'm sorry to have suspected you. Elbaf won't protect me anymore. That's all." He turned to leave. 

"NO! That's not fair!!" Luffy screamed, pulling and jolting to try and free his body. "If your god told you to die,  _ would you _ !?? There's someone else involved! And that's wrong!!"

"Shut up! You were born a decade or two ago, what do you know about-"

"Zoro!" Zoro had disappeared from Luffy's side and charged the giant, two swords drawn. He slashed at his ankles and the giant quickly turned to face him.

"You won't stop me." Dorry's voice boomed. Zoro didn't respond and Vivi still couldn't move. 

He swung his sword and Zoro sidestepped, letting it embed itself into the ground. He then ran up the blade, swords still drawn. Dorry flicked the sword up and Zoro was launched straight up where he was promptly snatched out of the air by a giant hand.

Vivi couldn't see Zoro's body inside Dorry's fist, but from the movement of his head and shoulders it was obvious he was struggling. Blood began to drip out from between Dorry's fingers - Zoro must have been cutting his hand. 

"Zoro!!" Luffy yelled again, this time worried and desperate. 

Dorry glanced at Luffy and then at Zoro. He then simply tossed the swordsman and walked away, wobbling and almost staggering to go fight his friend with a rumbled "Don't try to stop me again."

Zoro hit the rock Luffy was under and slid down it, landing with a thud next to his captain. 

Vivi winced and ran to them as the giant left to fight. 

Zoro was still conscious, and he immediately stood up again despite swaying quite a bit. He took a wavering step after the giant but Luffy grabbed his ankle. 

"Zoro." He said, frustration gone and replaced with concern. 

Zoro immediately froze and dropped to the ground, sheathing his swords. He looked at Luffy. 

Vivi reached them just as Usopp and Nami sprinted into the clearing.

"You guys!? What's wrong!??" Luffy yelled as the pair reached them, their breathing heavy from running.

"Th-the… the forest is scary!" Usopp yelled and Nami nodded fast. Was that really all they were spooked about? "We wanted to find you!"

Usopp then took in Luffy and Zoro's states and stopped his whining. "What happened here??"

Luffy's eyes narrowed angrily. "That giant! The rum exploded in his stomach!!"

"WHAT!??" Usopp shrieked. 

Luffy explained the situation, upset and breathless. Nami looked to Vivi several times for clarification, and soon the two had a decent understanding of what had happened. However, the giants' fight, or what they could see of it over the treetops, was not going well - Dorry had collapsed and he wasn't getting back up. 

"Who did this!!" Luffy's fists pounded against the ground. "Show yourself!!"

"Luffy." Usopp said, arms crossed and brow furrowed. "I don't know who they are, but I will take care of them." He said. 

Vivi glanced at him, then at Zoro and Luffy. "I'll help."

"Thank you! That's very brave of you!" Usopp said, obviously ignoring the trembling of his legs.

The now familiar sound of Zoro's hands hitting his swords once again came to Vivi's ears.

"It's you!!" Luffy yelled, his squirming gaining speed once more. 

Vivi turned around and immediately paled. "Carue!!"

It was Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine, standing over the very battered duck looking a sickening mixture between smug and frustrated. "I wanted to return this to you," Mr 5 began, "as it is no longer of any use to us."

"Why!" Vivi yelled. "Why hurt Carue! What did he ever do to you!?" She ran to her friend, taking his limp, heavy head into her lap.

"Those two!" She vaguely heard Nami hiss behind her. 

"You're right, the bird did nothing." Mr. 5 continued. "The ones we're worried about are those boys over there, but now they're quite incapacitated, it seems. We needed to separate you two. This bird wouldn't call for your help, though. Ridiculous. But now we don't need him. 

Carue quacked weakly and Vivi hugged his head. "Oh, Carue…"

Mr. 5 laughed, and Vivi felt rage course through her. She glared at him, beginning to stand up. 

"Are you the ones who put a bomb in the rum!? Usopp, behind her, yelled. 

"Yeah. So what?" 

Vivi was too angry to say much or even think. Before she knew it, she was rushing at the two of them, peacock slashers in her hands, whirring as she twirled their blades. Usopp was beside her, running as well. He stopped and something shot by her, hitting Mr. 5 and exploding. 

Mr. 5 only smirked and flicked at the air, and Vivi flinched but the explosion didn't seem to hit Usopp. She glanced back as she continued to run to see a quickly moving figure with two blades in its hands dart past her, towards Mr. 5 who was suddenly very close to her. His swords blocked a punch that exploded on contact and Vivi bit back a yelp of surprise, staggering backwards. 

Zoro engaged with Mr. 5, roaring in anger, and Vivi wasn't sure what to do, but she wasn't given much time before a sudden weight dropped down hard on her, knocking her over and definitely breaking a rib. Miss Valentine sat on her back, devil fruit powers further weighing her down until Vivi had trouble breathing.

Explosions and footsteps rang out around her but all she knew was that it hurt. 

"Usopp Hammer!!" A voice rang out and the weight was suddenly gone as Miss Valentine let out a loud cry of pain and wobbled off her back. 

Vivi gasped and quickly got to her knees, head spinning and world feeling askew as she began to breathe clearly again. 

Miss Valentine was about to drop onto Usopp now, though, and before Vivi could do anything, Zoro again darted past her, diving and shoving Usopp out of the way. Miss Valentine hit the ground rather than the sniper, but a well-timed projectile from Mr. 5 hit Zoro's back now that he had an opening. Zoro yelled in pain and part of his shirt burned away. He was up in a moment though, shoulders heaving and swords ready. Usopp stood up and joined him. Suddenly Vivi's hands were grabbed and she was pulled up and away. She made a sound of surprise and squirmed but soon realized it was Nami helping her. "Nami.."

She heard Zoro and Usopp fighting but couldn't focus over the pain in her chest. Usopp suddenly yelled out and she vaguely saw Miss Valentine had managed to land on him, to crush him into the ground. Her foot rested on his head threateningly. 

"USOPP!" Nami yelled from beside her. Luffy's reaction was similar. 

"Drop your swords or I'll kill him, Green Hair." Miss Valentine demanded. 

Zoro complied. 

Suddenly another explosion threw him to the ground and as he worked himself to his knees Vivi saw his bare back through his tattered shirt. She froze and her eyes locked onto the back of his right shoulder.

_ "Oh… you saw...?" Igaram sounded sad and he didn't meet her eyes.  _

_ "Saw what? What is that mark?" She asked.  _

_ "That mark is the mark of the Tenryuubito, Princess. They live above the law… and thus any man or woman with that mark is their… property. _

_ "But that's-" Igaram's hand clapped over her mouth.  _

_ "You mustn't say those things, Princess." Then, quieter. "Not here. I will tell you once we are home safe." _

_ Vivi hadn't wanted to wait. She'd been unnerved and upset, fear and disgust and pity wrapping around themselves and filling her small mind along with confusion and dread. _

_ Upon arriving home, the explanation for what she'd seen didn't make it any better.  _

She knew where she'd seen that smile before. She felt sick. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See any glaring issues? Let me know!  
> Of course as always please say anything you can think of in the comments, any comment makes me happy even if it's a critique.   
> Again, sorry for the wait! I love y'all and thanks for waiting!


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry this took forever!! I don't know why action is so hard for me! But I finished it! It may not be the best, and I apologize if it's a letdown, but I decided it would be better to move on than dwell too much on it!
> 
> Life's been hectic. School started back up. I don't like excuses but that's mine haha

Long-nose's head was still under the lady's foot. Zoro stared, eyes wide and body tense. He itched to grab his swords and save his nakama, but he'd seen what the lady could, would do to his friend if he didn't comply. There was nothing he could do and he felt helpless dread deep in his gut. 

"He's not one of our targets, you know." The lady said, sounding rather bored as she eyed him. Her foot pressed against Long-Nose's cheek and the sniper made a noise of discomfort.

Explosion man approached until he stood in front of Zoro. "No, but he did slaughter a good deal of our agents. I'm sure Mr. Three will not mind adding another figure to his artwork."

Zoro ignored him and kept his eyes on Long-Nose.

"And what about this sniper and the other girl?"

"Leave them here with their captain. Make sure they're incapacitated."

Witch and Long-Nose's eyes widened. Luffy was yelling off to the side. He wanted them free. 

The swordsman's eyes flicked to his swords on the ground in front of him, then moved down to his side, where Wado was still sheathed. He wanted them free, too. The lady's foot moved off Usopp's head and Zoro's hand pulled the sword out immediately as his body lunged - 

He only vaguely processed what happened next. Wado, only half-way out of its sheath as a boot that hadn't been there a second ago approached his face. The world suddenly spinning, accompanied by a deafening explosion and ringing in his ears. His shoulder slamming into the ground.

He tumbled backwards and came to a stop on his side. He couldn't give up. His vision was spotty. He just barely heard Witch and Long-Nose yell his name under the ringing in his ears. 

The foot came again and this time he crashed back against the white rock wall, the one his Captain was under. 

He heard Luffy call his name but the kicks kept coming and coming and each explosion was loud and burnt his arms and his head. He remained silent throughout it but his mind spun and between each kick he continued to attempt to rise. 

"Ah, revenge feels so good…" explosion man muttered after a few moments, once Zoro was weakened and limp against the wall, struggling to breathe. He walked away while Luffy screamed at him and Zoro's spotty vision watched his blurry form move to the lady. To where she now stood over Princess and Witch.

He strained against the pain, seeing red as he forced himself to his feet. He charged at the man again, each step pounding and jolting his body. 

His weak attempt at an attack was fruitless and resulted in another painful, explosive kick to his chest. He lay on the ground helpless and tried to force himself to move at a pained yell from Witch. He couldn't lift a finger.  _ Weak. _ His chest heaved but breathing hurt. His vision went dark. 

When Zoro came to, he was standing. His feet were entirely immobile and so was much of his lower back. He was slumped from the chest up. He opened his eyes and there was blinding light below him and his whole body flinched. His head pounded. 

"Mis…. ido!!" 

His body hurt. 

"...er Bushido!!"

Breathing hurt. 

"Mister Bushido!"

Princess. His eyes snapped open despite the bright light. He looked around and saw no signs of his nakama so he turned to her. 

"Oh, you are alive! Marvelous, I'd love to see your face as you learn of your fate! Oh, and that extra wax was  _ so _ bulky!" A voice he'd never heard before called. 

Whatever was supporting him around his lower back disappeared. His body swayed and wobbled as he tried to remain up straight. His legs and core strained as he struggled to balance. Standing was a chore. 

Princess glared in front of them and Zoro followed her gaze. 

Three? Zoro blinked to see clearer. Yeah, Three. 

Three was standing below them, looking quite proud of himself. 

"Now, swordsman! You must be made aware of your…  _ situation _ … you are standing on my creation, and you are soon to become a p-"

Zoro looked at Princess. "Luffy?"

She blinked in surprise. "He- I- he's back at the giant's camp. They.. they didn't take him with us. He… they, Mister Bushido, it was horrible. Nami and Usopp, they're…"

Zoro's heart stopped. His body tensed. He met her eyes. "Alive?"

Her eyes were shiny and upset. "I… don't know… they were when they dragged us away."

No… No, they couldn't be dead. Zoro knew they were strong. His nakama would be okay. But if they weren't it would be his fault. His fault for not being strong enough. He stared at nothing, his body still swaying and unbalanced despite his stuck legs. His scalp and the back of his neck prickled and he was too hot but his back was cold and covered in sweat. He clenched his fists and his fingers were like ice. He swallowed and it was difficult. 

"Mister Bushido!" Princess yelled and Zoro jolted. "We'll die if we stay here. Your nakama need help. We need to get down. Can you think of a way?"

Zoro stared at her for a few moments and sucked in a breath, and then he looked down at his stuck legs, at the giant white structure and at Three below them. He glanced to the right and saw what looked like the body of a giant. His arm was stiff but he moved it to Wado at his side and grabbed its hilt as he nodded. 

He unsheathed the sword and in one movement slashed it down against his ankle, arm straining. Once past the wax it sank easily into his flesh. Red stained the white restraining him. He smiled through the pain.

Princess screamed and Zoro ignored her, ignored the pain and fatigue as he slashed at his legs. If getting to his nakama meant losing his feet, then he would. 

There was suddenly the sound of Luffy yelling. Zoro looked up and a red blur was entering the clearing. He stopped slashing and wobbled. 

"ZOROOOO!! VIVIIII!!" 

Zoro froze. He stared down at his captain. He watched the boy's approach, watched him run past the clearing and then return to face Three. 

"ZORO!! ARE YOU OKAY!!?" His captain yelled. 

Luffy was alive and free. But Long-Nose and Witch weren't there. "Yes, Captain!" He cursed his voice for how quiet and weak it was, but Luffy seemed appeased. Suddenly, he realized he couldn't move his arm anymore. He looked down at it and caught sight of the blood still spreading from his ankles below it. A wave of nausea hit him and the world faded to black.

\- - -

  
  


Nami watched Usopp run out of camp astride Carue. She knew something must be wrong with her leg and her arm and she knew that the burns covering her needed more than just what Usopp's shaking hands had managed before she'd urged him to leave her, to go find Zoro and Vivi and Make sure Luffy didn't do anything stupid, running ahead as he had.

Breathing in too deeply hurt so she breathed shallowly. Sweat stuck her hair to her face. She didn't know how long she remained there, just that she couldn't for the life of her fall unconscious, which was perhaps a good thing when she weakly turned her head and saw a flash of gold in the forest and vaguely smelled cigarette smoke over the blood and burnt hair and skin. 

"S-SAN-" she tried to yell, but a sharp pain in her chest cut the sound short. 

"Nami-san!?" She heard his voice call back. 

Footsteps began to slowly approach and then sped up considerably until there were strong arms around her. 

"Nami-san! What bastard did this to you!? Was it those Baroque works agents!?"

She vaguely wondered how he knew of their presence, but that wasn't important. She nodded. 

She heard him practically growl. "I'll kill those fuckers.. How dare they-"

She shook her head, wincing at the pain it brought but succeeding in cutting him off. "Sanji… Luffy and Usopp are gonna take care of it."

Sanji's brow furrowed. "Luffy? He was with you? Then what happened t-"

"The agents took Vivi and Zoro," She explained, still breathless. She hoped the two were okay. She didn't know what they'd do without their swordsman, and though she'd just met Vivi they were still shipmates, still friends. 

Sanji's eyes darkened. "Where are they? I'll-"

"Luffy's taking care of it." She repeated, body feeling heavy.

She stared up into his eyes and he seemed to fight her for a moment. Then, however, he relented. 

"We'll go to the ship. If they don't come back in thirty minutes, though…"

Nami nodded but stopped when it hurt her head. Sanji was gentle when he picked her up, but even that movement angered her injuries. Everything hurt.

She winced and gritted her teeth, hand tightening against Sanji's chest where it gripped his shirt. "Wait- wait… leave… leave a message… they were gonna get me."

Above her, Sanji nodded. She was set down again but not for long and soon he was carrying her again. She let his presence and his movements, though rather painful, lull her into unconsciousness. 

\- - -

Usopp wiped sweat off his brow after the last of Zoro's stitches were complete. The guy was still unconscious. If Usopp had known going onto that island with Luffy would have caused their swordsman so much stress and injury, he would never have allowed it. He'd be fine, but all this less than a week after Whiskey Peak was pushing it. He was glad the swordsman was so tough and knew he was an asset in a fight, but as the acting ship's doctor he really needed to ban Zoro from confrontations until he was sufficiently healed. This time, burns covered much of Zoro's body. Usopp had been able to clean them and bandage them, but they had no more of the cream he'd used before to treat burns, and he didn't have enough knowledge to make something from the plants on the island. They  _ really  _ needed a real doctor. 

He didn't know when Zoro would wake. He'd hardly recovered from his previous exhaustion and now more was piled up on it and he didn't know the body well enough to predict what it would do in such a situation. He wished Luffy would stop asking. He hated saying he didn't know. 

Nami was better off than Zoro, if more burnt and bruised (better off didn't mean much. It only meant she was conscious and not dangerously low on blood). She had twisted her ankle badly and from what Usopp could tell, her left arm had pulled out of its socket at some point. The rest of her injuries were burns and bruises like Zoro's. She was strong though, and she didn't so much as whimper as he did what he could. 

It was time to sail away from the island. Sanji had found an eternal pose and Luffy was anxious to leave. Usopp shared the sentiment. The giants were awe-inspiring and he respected them greatly, but not much good had come of the island. 

Dorry and Brogy were understanding. As the crew sailed from the island they stood behind them, encouraging them and urging them straight ahead. 

Something huge surfaced from the waves. 

"Straight ahead!" The giants' voices boomed. 

"Luffy! There's something big, we need to turn!!" Usopp tried, staring in horror at the giant creature. 

"No!" His captain yelled from his special seat. "The giants said go straight ahead, n' that's what we'll do!"

Usopp stared up at the massive being, wincing and tensing as the ship approached it. A massive mouth opened, and Usopp wondered just how it was that this was the second sea monster that had eaten them. "S-straight ahead…" he stammered, nodding at the back or his captain's head. 

The mouth closed and the Merry was plunged into darkness. Usopp gripped the railing and screamed despite the pain it caused his still-injured chest. 

Light flooded back in and they soared past the giant fish, out towards the open seas. Luffy laughed that sunshiney laugh of his, eyes ahead. Usopp looked back. 

A giant, perfect circle had bored through the monster's body. Through it, Usopp could see the giants, standing resolute at the edge of the island, broken weapons from their attack still in their hands. The fish took a long time to fall, and by the time he could see them again, they were once more fighting, now bare-handed. 

Usopp watched until he couldn't see their figures anymore and until the island slipped past the horizon. One day. One day he'd be that brave. 

\- - -

When Zoro awoke it was dark. He wasn't in the boys' room, or the galley for that matter. In the darkness he could see that he was in Nami's room. He closed his eyes and tried to remember why he was here. Soon, they snapped open. Baroque Works. Luffy was okay. He didn't know if Long-Nose and Witch were-

There was a weak, soft groan to his side and he jumped. He looked. There, in the bed with him, was.."

"Nami!" He said softly, mouth turning into a relieved smile. He shifted to kneel over her on the bed, ignoring his limbs' protests, and her eyes opened a little to look up at him. 

"Zoro…" she groaned and her hand found his where it pressed into the bed at her side. Her touch wasn't strong, but the way she grabbed at his hand led him to relax it and let her guide it to her forehead. 

Hot. It was burning hot, and Zoro's eyes went a little wide. She let go of his hand. 

"Sick… you're sick." He murmured and she nodded. 

"Water…" she said softly. 

Zoro immediately nodded and slipped out of the bed. He padded to the door, again ignoring his straining muscles. The bandages around him made it hard to walk so he pulled at them as he went to the kitchen. 

He returned with a few less bandages and a cool glass of water. Witch took it, but struggled a little to sit up. Zoro slid a hand behind her back the way he remembered was done for him and he helped her raise the cup to her lips. She drank greedily. 

When she was done he set the cup to the side and smiled at her. "Thank you," she said softly and he helped her to lay down again. He went to leave, but her hand brushed against his side and he turned to see her reaching out to him. 

"Stay." She said softly. "'sopp said… 'n I might need help again…"

Zoro blinked, but he nodded and got back into the bed next to her. He saw her begin to shiver and soon had an armful of an incredibly warm navigator. 

"S'cold…" she whispered. 

He remained still for a few moments, but then gently draped an arm over her. She pressed closer, shivering. 

Zoro smiled. "Okay, Nami."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope it was okay! I got very stuck many times! I'm really sorry if it's not great!  
> Critiques welcome, I always wanna get better and do what I can!   
> Please please please comment even if I don't respond, I swear you people who comment are half my drive to keep going!


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright. Here we go again. This one might be a little odd to read, sorry if it's not too great.  
> I hope you enjoy, though!

"Nami's sick." Zoro had said it quickly before Cook even fully descended the steps into the room, and the man stopped and stared at him. 

Had he already known? Or should Zoro have told him sooner? If Nami was sick, she may be in danger. Would she die? Had Zoro failed by not giving her enough help? Was she sick because of her injuries? The injuries she'd gotten because _he_ hadn't protected her?

Zoro became more nervous as Cook stared. He'd failed hadn't he? Failed his nakama, hurt them, and then failed them again right after he'd learned they were all safe? 

Zoro looked elsewhere. He smiled despite how _wrong_ it felt to do so when his nakama was sick and when he was a _failure_. He didn't hear Cook move at first but the lights were suddenly on and quick footsteps approached the bed and he was right there by them. "Nami-san's sick!??"

He didn't seem angry at Zoro. But he looked _scared_ . That meant it was bad. It was bad, and Zoro should have told them last night when he got up, should have fought harder, should have never been so _weak_ as to let his nakama get hurt in the first place.

Nami groaned and Cook quickly went quiet. 

Her eyes opened and she squirmed in Zoro's arms. She looked up at Cook, eyes narrow against the light. "Sanji…? S'hot…" her voice was tired and weak and at hearing the words Zoro pulled away as quickly as he could without jostling her, sitting up against the wall with his knees drawn up. She turned her head and their eyes met for a moment before Zoro looked down. 

She was sick and hurt because he was weak and failed her and he hadn't gotten her help and he'd made her more uncomfortable by laying too close too long and he was a _horrible_ nakama and he didn't deserve her. 

"Zoro," she whispered and Zoro's cheeks hurt from the forced smiling. It felt _horrible_ to smile when she was hurt. But he was supposed to, wasn't he? Who was he to say what was wrong anyways? If he hated smiling, then he deserved to have to smile. 

"Nami," he whispered. He didn't look at her. "I'm so sorry."

There was quite a bit of silence and Zoro dared to look up for just a moment, that terrible horrible smile on his face but he had to keep it, right? 

Nami looked confused. "No, no, don' say sorry," she croaked.

What? Zoro's head hurt. 

Cook spoke next and Zoro didn't look up at him. He felt ashamed and confused and weak. "I'll get the others."

Cook left and it was just Nami and Zoro and why had he left them alone together after Nami got hurt because of Zoro? Had the others not told him? Cook had not been there, did he not know how _weak_ Zoro was and how _at fault_ he was? He scooted off the bed. She didn't need him taking up space there. 

There was yelling and a good deal of feet pounding against wood on the deck above and Luffy tumbled down the stairs first, followed by Long-nose who was equally clumsy in his descent. Zoro almost approached them but stopped and stood still by the bookcase because would they even want him to after his failure?

They had seen. They knew what Zoro had done. Zoro saw bandages on Long-nose's limbs and his smile felt absolutely vile. He felt sick. Nami was sick and they all knew now and it was Zoro's fault she was hurting. 

Luffy righted himself and he and Long-nose scrambled over each other to see Nami as Princess descended the staircase. 

Long-nose felt her forehead and winced and Nami looked up at the two of them. 

Luffy looked upset and a deep frown grew on his face until suddenly he perked up and began to stretch out his cheeks and grin at her the way he did when they had a banquet and he wanted to see them all smile. 

Nami gave no response other than a soft sigh but the boy kept trying, looking increasingly concerned when his efforts were fruitless. 

"Luffy, what are you doing?" Long-nose asked, stopping him. 

"Trying to make Nami smile! But she won't smile!"

Princess, who had walked up next to them, shook her head. "That's not going to work, Luffy. She looks really sick."

"Well… if… if she's sick, then… we give her a hundred helpings of meat! Then she'll be all better!!"

Cook was descending the stairs, thermometer and wet cloth in hand. "Luffy, that's not going to work either." He murmured and made his way to Nami. Princess moved out of his way so he could place the wet cloth on Nami's forehead and the thermometer in her mouth. 

He then turned to Long-nose. "Usopp, what do you think?" 

"Why are you asking me?" The sniper looked worried and a little scared but mostly confused. 

"Because you're the doctor?" Cook said, arms crossing and visible twirly eyebrow raising. 

"I've told you, I'm not a doctor! I just -"

His eyes suddenly landed on Zoro and his brow furrowed. _Oh no. There, he's mad, he's mad._

"-Oi, oi! You can't be on your feet yet, lay back down, Zoro!" Zoro tensed when he approached and waited for the type of punishment he deserved but instead gentle hands pushed him back to the bed.

Once he was sitting, Long-Nose went to pull back but froze, eyes looking at Cook and narrowing.

"I'm NOT a doctor! It's just no one else puts the rest of you back together! I know nothing about being sick, just how to treat broken bones and burns and do stitches!" He quickly yelled.

"We'll you're all we got, and Nami needs _someone!_ " Cook sounded angry. Or was he scared?

"I don't know anything! I told you when Zoro had a fever, all I can do is let her rest and hope it blows over!"

Cook almost retorted, seemingly very agitated, but then the thermometer beeped and stole his attention. Princess pulled it out and looked. 

"A hundred and four…" she whispered. 

The room went silent. Cook and Long-nose's attention went immediately to their navigator and Zoro felt raw fear fill his whole body from their expressions. 

"That's… that's way worse than Zoro ever got…!" Long-nose managed and Zoro hated himself for letting this happen. 

"Being sick on the seas without a doctor… is often a death sentence. Is there not one of you who might know how to treat such a thing?" Princess asked. Upon looking at her face Zoro could see the same worry and fear, hidden under a layer of calm. 

Luffy, Long-nose and Cook pointed to Nami, and Cook's face was screwed up in a way Zoro didn't like as he looked at Princess. "Nami could die?"

Princess nodded at him, eyes serious. 

There was a heavy silence and Zoro felt as if he was drowning in it. That confirmed it, Nami might die and it was _his_ fault, and why did none of them see that? Why didn't they blame him? He was still smiling but he feared if he continued he'd throw up. He tried to swallow the feeling back. 

The silence was broken by rustling sheets and all eyes - including Zoro's - were on Nami as she sat up. Her face was flushed and her hair was a sweaty mess. 

"What? Is Nami better??" Luffy asked. 

Long-nose smacked his head. "Of _course_ not!"

"Come _on_ , you guys," her voice was still weak, "I'm sure it's nothing… and _no one_ gets a fever of a hundred and four. That old thermometer's broken."

No one moved while her legs swung out of the bed and she stood. She wobbled for a moment and then stood somewhat steadily. Zoro wanted to help her, to let her lean on him but it was his fault she was hurt in the first place. Could he even help?

"We need to keep moving towards Alabasta. Vivi… on my desk…" Nami pointed a shaking hand towards her desk and Princess went to it and took the rolled up newspaper that sat in the center. 

"I should've told you sooner… but it wasn't long after we left Little Garden that I got it and we were already sailing as fast as I could manage…"

Zoro watched Princess pick up the paper and stare at it. Her face quickly changed into one of shock and horror.

"300,000 soldiers of the royal army switched to join the rebels… that… that means the royal army can no longer contain them…" she said softly. 

Nami nodded. "The situation's reached a critical point… so we need to set sail for Alabasta quickly. You get it, Luffy?"

Captain nodded. 

"Then… let's get to work… we'll head to Alabasta as planned… thank you for worrying about me, though."

She ascended the stairs and went to the deck.

Princess had fallen to her knees, clutching the newspaper. She looked badly shaken. "If I can't stop this… it's all over for Alabasta… Crocodile will take it over… it isn't enough to return alive anymore… if I get back there and can't help… a million of my people will slaughter each other for no reason…"

"That's a huge responsibility…" Cook said. "We'll have to get you there soon. Let's go, Usopp. Luffy. Nami needs help steering the ship."

The other two nodded and Zoro was left in the room with Princess, who still looked very distressed.

There were a few minutes of quiet between them, Nami's orders and the stomping of shoes drifting down from the deck above. Zoro watched Princess stare hard at her lap for a good while before gathering and steeling herself. She looked at him and he avoided her eyes. 

Did she expect something of him? What was he to do?

She shook her head, stood, and headed up the stairs after the rest of Zoro's nakama. Zoro soon followed her up and he was glad he did because Princess was talking to them and no one was watching Nami, who was swaying on her feet up by the railing. He made his way to her, hurrying despite how the stress of moving hurt his body. 

He caught her before she fully lost her balance and she tried to push away for a moment to stand on her own, but she soon gave up and leaned into him. 

"We have to head for Alabasta at the fastest speed we can…" Princess was saying as Luffy, Cook and Long-nose ran around the deck along with her duck, fixing the ship's course which had drifted off while they were distracted with Nami.. "So… we need to get Nami treated as fast as possible. That's the only way we can travel at the fastest speed, right?"

Nami stiffened in Zoro's arms. 

A million people at least in Princess's country. And she'd place her trust in Nami? Zoro stared at her. 

"Can't get any faster!" Luffy called from the other side of the ship. 

"Are you sure, Vivi? That's a million Alabastans at risk…" Long-nose said from his place by the mast. 

"Yes. That's why we need Nami treated."

"Ah~! Vivi-chwan, well said! I'm falling for you all over again~!" Cook called. 

Zoro had to agree. Princess was brave and she trusted them, cared about Nami. He liked her. 

"Don't overexert yourself, Nami." Princess smiled at them both, and though there was nervousness on her face she had set her jaw and covered it with resolve. 

\- - -

It was evening now, and the whole crew had grouped up in Nami's room. They'd laid down their mats and gotten ready for bed, lumped together and piled up on one another to make use of the floor space and guard against the cold that was settling around the ship. Zoro lay flat on his back, head on a pillow. Long-nose had insisted he have the most space to lay down flat so he wouldn't end up undoing any stitches or agitating any of his wounds. That was fine, because it meant Luffy could lay right up next to him and share his body heat. Long-nose was on his other side. He'd fallen asleep immediately in a pile of blankets on the floor but somehow was now completely out of them, laying on his side and holding Zoro's hand in his sleep. Princess was nearby, lying curled up against her duck by Nami's bed. The duck himself had curved his neck around her in turn. Cook was the only one not in the room - someone had to keep a lookout..

They'd all been up and about on deck all day, working. Zoro hadn't helped. Every time he tried, Long-nose or Princess stopped him. He felt restless - useless. How could he get stronger if he couldn't do anything all day?

He looked at Nami's sleeping form. It was his fault she was hurt. And yet no one had blamed him. He hated it. They _had_ seen, hadn't they? 

He directed his eyes at the ceiling now. 

Luffy stirred next to him. Or had he even fallen asleep? Zoro didn't know. "Zoro's upset. Why?" 

Zoro's eyes widened a little. "...Captain?"

"You are, aren't you? Something hurts. What?" Luffy flipped onto his stomach and got to his knees. His face popped into view over Zoro's. 

Zoro avoided his eyes, but they shone even in the dark. It was hard to look anywhere else. 

"Will you tell me?"

Zoro had to meet those eyes sooner or later and he wasn't strong enough to keep looking away. "Weak… I'm weak. I let Nami get hurt."

Luffy frowned. "That wasn't Zoro's fault."

Yes it was. Zoro's face scrunched up just a little. 

"You were really strong, Zoro! And they're okay. They'll be okay. They don't blame you."

But they should. 

"Do you blame Nami? For letting you get hurt?" 

Of course he didn't! But that was completely different. Nami was the navigator. Not a protector. Not like Zoro.

"It's the same."

"It's not." Zoro said softly. 

"Zoro almost died, too."

The only acceptable collapse is in death. _Almost dying_ wasn't acceptable. It meant he didn't try hard enough. He needed to get stronger. 

"You were really strong, though. Everyone thinks so." Luffy's eyes were serious. It was hard to fight with those eyes. 

_Strong._ Luffy thought he was strong. Everything he wanted to be.

"You did what you could, right? That's all you need to do. You do all you can and then you trust your nakama."

But what if it wasn't enough?

"It's okay if you don't get it. I'll just get it for you till you do! And I'll keep telling you! Shi-shi-shi!"

The laughter sounded like the breeze on a sunny day. Like sea air. Luffy plopped back down next to him and got comfortable again. 

Zoro stared at the ceiling, almost missing those piercing eyes. His Captain was asleep in a moment.

Zoro still wasn't tired. It wasn't long before he couldn't stand it. He pulled out of Luffy's limbs and untangled his hand from Long-nose's. He went to the stairs and made his way up slowly, careful his bare feet didn't make noise on the wooden steps and wake them. 

He stepped out of the storage room and shivered. It was cold. He looked around for his swords. He hadn't seen him since he'd awoken. 

There was a thump and Zoro whirled around to see Cook approaching him from the mast. Right, he'd been on watch. 

"Usopp said you should stay in bed." Oh, no. But the cook simply passed by him. "Your swords're in the galley."

Zoro blinked, surprised. His awkward smile faltered a little.

Cook disappeared below deck into the bunk room. Zoro made his way to the galley and found that his swords were indeed there, intact, leaning on the wall. He took them and when he returned to the deck Cook was there with socks, boots and a shirt. It occurred to Zoro that he was shirtless and barefoot, only a pair of loose pants covering him. 

"Put these on or Usopp will hit me harder in the morning. Not that it would hurt. But you should still be warm."

"Thanks, Cook," he said softly and Cook nodded.

Cook returned to his spot in the crow's nest and, now dressed warmly and equipped with his swords, Zoro began to go through the simple movements he had memorized with one sword. Wado's white sheath and hilt shone in the light of the moon and its blade glinted. He relaxed into the now familiar weight and movements. Zoro let his movements slowly get faster until he could hear the sword swishing through the air. He kept each motion graceful and calculated. Cook had shown him some of the movements, and others he remembered from his time at the dojo. It was after a long, long time of this when Zoro slid Sandai Kitetsu from its sheath and let it join Wado. He didn't start so slow with two swords but kept the graceful motion from before. It wouldn't do to swing the weapons aimlessly. 

A good swordsman needed discipline. Koushiro had always told him that. Sandai Kitetsu urged him to speed up, to use more and more force but he restrained it and let its eagerness move it. He'd advance to more difficult moves when he was ready, not when his katana was. 

He worked with the two swords for a long time, focused and patient. If he rushed he would hurt himself. If he rushed he wouldn't get stronger. . He then relaxed. Sweat dripped from his hair down his face despite the cold. 

He looked down at Yubashiri, still in its sheath. 

"Santoryu…" he murmured. 

_You do all you can and then you trust your nakama._ Zoro would just need to be able to do more. 

He looked at Wado in his hand. He brought it up to his mouth and bit down on the grip. The weight felt odd, but familiar. This had always been an ambition of his. His own invention. He'd thought of it several times while dueling Cook, but had held back. He hadn't been ready. But he had to start somewhere. He took a deep breath as he pulled Yubashiri from its sheath. 

Holding a sword in his mouth was odd, but he embraced the challenge. It would make him stronger.

He'd figure this out. 

\- - -

The next day was much of the same. Long-nose, having learned of his late-night training session, had banned such an event from occurring again, but had grudgingly agreed that Zoro could train under Cook's supervision as long as they didn't do anything strenuous. Of course, when Long-nose wasn't looking they fell into their normal routine.

It was mid-afternoon when Zoro had decided to visit Nami. Outside, snow was accumulating on the deck and the wind was bitter. Princess entered, bringing with her some food and a new cool, wet cloth. Nami was asleep, though. Zoro was seated on the floor, his back against the bed.

When Princess approached and sat on the bed next to Nami, Zoro took it as a cue to leave. He liked her, but she always looked at him like she didn't know what to think. Like he scared her. No, that wasn't the word. It was somewhere between confusion and fear and pity. He didn't like it. He stood and headed for the stairs.

"Wait," she said softly.

Zoro halted at the base of the staircase. 

"Usopp said you should stay down here where it's warm and rest. And… I'd like to talk to you."

Zoro regarded her for a moment, deciding. She was a good person, he knew. He liked her. If she wanted to ask him something, then she should, even if her eyes made him uncomfortable. 

Zoro sat down on the floor against the wall and gave her his attention. 

She seemed surprised, though he couldn't guess why. She didn't remain silent for too long, though. "You… used to belong to the celestial dragons?"

Zoro stared at her a moment and then he nodded. He'd heard them called that before. She was giving him that look again, stronger now.

"And how… how did you get away?"

"They left me. I wasn't good enough." He answered and though he smiled through it he felt tightness in his throat at the last syllable of it because while it was the truth… 

He was happy to be with Luffy. But he wished he knew what exactly he'd done, what he'd lacked in to result in their abandoning him. He didn't want it to happen again. 

"How did you meet Luffy?" Princess asked. 

Zoro stared at her. These were odd questions, but this one he was happy to answer. "He asked if I wanted to be free." And saying that made his smile easier. 

"And… are you? Free?" 

Zoro blinked. He'd dreamed of freedom, and it'd been running over sand and grass and being on and in the sea. It'd been fighting and testing his strength, feeling stronger every day.

He met her eyes. "Yes."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :)  
> Hope that was good! 
> 
> Do I know anything about swords? Hahahahaha no I'm so sorry,,,
> 
> Comments are welcome as usual! I crave validation!!  
> Also if you see any glaring issues with grammar or typos please tell me,,,  
> If you have any critiques please do share, I try my best but I know I'm far from perfect lol. 
> 
> ALSO If i ever mess up and say a name I wasn't supposed to please please tell me, I try to go through and check but it's hard,,,, I hope you'll know when it's intentional versus when it's not,,,,
> 
> Anyways next up is Drum! I'm excited!!


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I take forever! I'm sorry!

Vivi stared at Zoro, uncertain. She'd asked what she'd meant to. And Zoro hadn't reacted poorly at all, but he also didn't seem to understand that his enslavement had been  _ wrong. _ By the way he'd looked when he said his master let him go, he  _ regretted  _ that he wasn't a slave anymore, and that… that didn't sit well with her. The smile when he told her of his abandonment was downright eerie, haunted almost. But when she asked about Luffy he'd perked up. The smile was real. 

"And… are you? free?" She asked. 

The smile went fake again, Zoro's eyes a little taken aback as he blinked. Then, it vanished completely. Despite its absence he looked completely comfortable and content when he met her eyes.

"Yes." 

And she'd never heard his voice sound so sure before. She'd never felt like someone met her eyes with quite the same intensity.

Zoro suddenly started, breaking the eye contact to whip his head and stare up at the trap door leading out just before the ship rocked violently, jostling the bed and lifting it off the wooden floor. Vivi had to push it down and back into place so as not to risk it flipping and throwing or crushing its sick occupant. Zoro stood and took his swords with him as he ran up the stairs before Vivi could remind him to go easy on himself. Shouts came from the above deck. 

Vivi stopped herself from going after him. Whatever it was, someone needed to keep Nami safe. 

\- - -

When Zoro reached the deck he froze at the sight of a group of unfamiliar, armed men circling around his nakama, guns pointed at their heads. His already pounding heart seemed to beat faster and his hand went to his swords at his hip, but several of the men had quickly surrounded him as well. In the center of the deck stood a man who wasn't tall but wide. Purple hair stuck out on the sides of his head from under a massive white cloak made from some animal. His jaw seemed to be made of metal, and his arms and chest were covered in metal plating. He was chewing on a large piece of meat he'd skewered on a knife.

He was looking at Luffy, but his eyes settled on Zoro next. "That makes four people and a duck. There can't only be four people and a duck on this ship."

He took a large bite of the meat, metal jaw opening wide to do so. He then bit down, snapping the knife and swallowing both it and the meat. 

He huffed. "Whatever. I need to ask you something."

"What the fuck!?" Luffy yelled from his place sitting on the railing in front of the galley. 

The unfamiliar man popped the knife's hilt into his mouth and made his way to the side of the ship. "We're headed for Drum Kingdom. You don't happen to have an eternal pose, do you?"

"No, we don't," Cook said from his place next to Luffy. "And we haven't heard of Drum Kingdom, either."

Luffy nodded in agreement. "So you'd better quit asking and go the hell away."

"Oh, no. I've no need to rush like that. We'll just take all your treasures instead then. But hold on - I'm feeling a little peckish." His jaw opened wider than before, seemingly unhinging like that of a snake, and he bit off the decorative swirl that the railing made between the Merry's upper and lower deck with a loud crack. 

Long-Nose's jaw dropped and he spluttered for a moment. "Oi! What the fuck is up with you!?"

The man ignored him and Zoro watched Luffy's face become more enraged. He felt it too. This man was threatening his nakama, destroying their ship… 

"Quit eating our ship!!" Luffy demanded.

The man ignored Zoro's Captain too and picked up the anchor rope. He began to feed it into his mouth to eat it as well. 

Luffy lunged and one of the men with guns yelled something but he was too fast. He leapt down to the lower deck and his fist slammed down on the man's head. 

"STOP IT!!" He yelled.

"He's resisting! Shoot him!"

Cook grinned and met Zoro's eyes for a moment before Zoro averted his. The message had been clear, though. Zoro grabbed the hilts of his swords again.

"So we can kick their asses now?" Cook asked, though the situation didn't require asking. 

Zoro lowered his stance to fight, watching Luffy's arms stretch back over the sea in preparation for an attack. The wide man's mouth opened and closed around his captain's body, but Luffy's hands were still stretched back out of the metal jaw and away from them both. Zoro couldn't help how his lips rose into a smirk as he watched his captain's arms reach their stretching limit, watched his hands rocket towards the man's face and land a solid blow on him. 

The metal jaw opened and Captain fell out and landed on his feet, hands driving the man further and further back until he was launched from the ship and sent flying out to drop into the sea. 

The other men all cried out in surprise. "His highness has fallen into the sea!!" One wailed. 

"Retreat!" Another yelled and Zoro narrowed his eyes. Like hell was he letting them all get away unscathed. 

He helped Cook chase them off the Merry and onto their giant of a ship, landing several hits with the hilts of his swords - as much as he wished to try his new (though not really new) technique, these men weren't worth dirtying his blades. 

"You'll regret this!" One of the men - Zoro didn't see which - yelled. 

And then they were gone. 

"Tch." He almost felt disappointed. How could he test his strength when the enemy were such cowards? 

\- - -

The day passed uneventfully other than that wimpy attack. Zoro helped Long-Nose fix the damage the wide man had done and then went to help Cook with dinner as much as the blonde would allow.

After the meal, Zoro followed his nakama down into Nami's room where, once again, they all laid on the floor to sleep and keep her company. It was a tranquil night. Long-Nose was on watch for now and Zoro didn't want to anger him by training so instead he closed his eyes and cuddled into his captain, content to rest with the promise to himself that he'd train harder tomorrow. 

He dreamed for the first time in a while. He hadn't dreamed since joining the Straw Hats. They were not the usual dreams of running and fighting and feeling alive, no. Rather, he woke up in the darkness of the room, sweating but cold, images of his past masters' faces and the feeling of a collar on his neck following him out of sleep. 

Luffy's arms were wrapped around him loosely as his captain snored into his shoulder. Zoro felt smothered, but not by his captain's arms. Thoughts of his masters always left him feeling inadequate, not… whatever this was. Something in him urged him to go out and walk in the air, to see the sky. He gently climbed out of Luffy's hold and stepped over his sleeping nakama to make his way onto the deck. 

There was a phantom weight on his shoulders, a small reminder of that thick, metal collar that had always restricted him - no, he'd never minded it. It had never bothered him. His scalp tingled and he fought to keep a frown off his face.  _ No,  _ he told himself.  _ Master's hands in my hair never bothered me _ . 

_ Zoro was on the bed again. Master's hand was holding his head down, fingers curled into a fist and pulling on the green, sweaty mess even as they pushed him down.  _

_ "Just stay still, moss-hair. That's a good boy." The hand was on his back, then on his hip, then his thigh - _

Zoro shook his head. He started to pace the deck, restless. The cold air bit into him as he walked, but he ignored it. He looked at the sky and the sea, dark at this ungodly hour. It was tranquil. This was lost on him, however. The images his mind had conjured up before his waking were muddled, but were coming back. Hands on his body, feeling him, arranging him as they saw fit. He shook his head. He hadn't minded his master's touch ‐ he  _ never _ had. 

_ The hands were tight on his knees, holding his legs down. He wasn't that flexible. It hurt. Zoro squirmed uncomfortably. "Relax, boy."  _

_ Zoro stilled. _

He felt like moving, like screaming or fighting or running but screaming would wake his nakama and there was no one to fight and the ship was too small for any running to do any good. 

The feeling was only getting worse. The phantom hands were restraining him, touching him and he didn't know what to do except drop and start to do push ups as fast as he could, only barely lending any focus to counting. It wasn't long before his muscles were burning but burning muscles were better than the hands. He didn't know why, didn't know what to do with the feeling or what had brought it on. He stopped a moment, arms shaking and too tired to carry on with the push-ups.

_ Are you free? _ Princess's voice asked him. He was. He knew he was. Why was he thinking about that?

_ The hand on his jaw held it firmly. The hand on side trailed down - _

He shook his head and continued his push ups until he couldn't any more, so instead he did sit ups and then squats and then every other exercise Cook had taught him, anything to replace the restraining hands with burning exhaustion. 

He had stopped for a moment to stand still, back to the mast, sweat dripping off him when a board in the Merry's deck creaked and he whirled to face the intruder. 

Long-Nose. Zoro immediately relaxed, but stiffened again when they locked eyes and he found he couldn't look away. It was like Long-Nose was searching his eyes for something.

He looked like he was going to say something, but then, instead, he took Zoro's sweaty hand and led him towards the galley. Long-Nose's hand was warm. For an instant Zoro had an urge to pull away from it - it was only Long-Nose's hand but he felt like he'd had enough of hands tonight. He tensed and suddenly Long-Nose let go. 

"Ahh, um. Come to the galley. If you want." Zoro stared after him as he went ahead. 

He followed, of course. Confusion knotted up inside him. Was Long-Nose upset?

When he entered, Long-Nose was standing at the kitchen counter. "I… was gonna make hot chocolate. Sit, if, uh. If you want to join me." He told him.

Zoro hesitated at the door but then took his seat at the table, the one he normally took while Cook worked. He wiped sweat off his forehead. Long-Nose's back was to him. 

"You know, even though you're the most recent to join, it feels like you've always been here." Zoro stared at his back as he said it. "Well, it's not like we were together for too long before you came, but still. Even though we went through so much before you, you still feel... right, here." He paused stilled for a moment, then continued. "Have I told you about our adventures yet?" He glanced at Zoro. Zoro shook his head and as Long-Nose turned back to prepare the hot chocolate he continued. "Oh, my god. How could I not have?"

He came to the table and placed a steaming mug in front of Zoro. He sat across from him, hands around his own mug. 

"Well! I'll have to fill you in, yeah? We did a lot of crazy stuff!"

Long-Nose's voice then fell into his typical storytelling cadence, and Zoro paid rapt attention even more than usual because it was his  _ captain _ Long-Nose was now speaking about. 

Zoro slowly drank the hot chocolate, enjoying the warmth it provided as Long-Nose went on about what their crew had done, how Luffy had met Nami and then the two had helped him and struggled by his side to save his town, how they had then sailed together to a floating restaurant and met Cook, how Nami stole the Merry and how the restaurant was attacked by a pirate and -

"It was a very tense scene… me and one of those bounty hunters were about to go after Nami, and suddenly the pirate's galleon was sliced right in half!" Zoro froze where his mug was lifted to his lips. Slicing a galleon in two? Was that possible?

"And out of the rubble a tiny little boat sailed through - I swear, it looked like a coffin! And on that boat there was a man! And would you believe it, this man was the same one who attacked Krieg's fleet in the Grand Line. He followed them all the way to East Blue! And he said he was just killing time! And then? He just left! Just like he came in, he sailed right away, didn't even give Krieg a chance to fight him. I asked around about the guy later and - well, this is crazy but I think you'll find it interesting, Zoro. They called him "Hawkeyes" Dracule Mihawk. And you know what else? He is the world's greatest swordsman! Just sailing around in East Blue. You'd never believe it but when he was nearby, we could  _ feel _ it. His presence was downright  _ commanding _ ! And the Grand Line is chock full of guys like him!"

Zoro had set his mug down and was now staring into its contents, which he'd mostly finished.  _ The World's Greatest. Dracule Mihawk.  _ Now his goal had a name. But  _ cutting a ship in two?  _ Could Zoro match up? He gritted his teeth. Of course he could. He would, eventually. 

Long-Nose was talking again and Zoro was quick to give his attention to him once more, though part of his mind was still thinking of the swordsman he'd one day defeat. 

"- I didn't see much of the fight because I sailed away with the bounty hunter, but Sanji told me about it later. He said he'd never seen anyone like Luffy, with that kind of ambition that didn't bow to the enemy no matter the circumstances. He'd been adamantly refusing to join before that, you know. It surprised me that when we met next he'd joined the crew! But it also felt right. Just like it did with you, I think. Ah, I digress. Me and the bounty hunter were following Nami to her hometown, and…"

Long-Nose continued and Zoro soon finished his hot chocolate but listened attentively, especially interested because now Long-Nose was telling him about how they fought for Nami, how his nakama all almost died before even meeting him. Long-Nose seemed to have a hard time describing it, describing how hard they fought and how injured they became.

"- Ah, my watch is probably over. We should go get some sleep. I've got to wake Luffy, it's his turn."

Zoro blinked and looked at Long-Nose's face. Had he gotten bored? No, there was simply a bit of tiredness and a good-natured smile in his eyes. Zoro nodded and stood. Their mugs could be left until tomorrow morning. 

He followed his crewmate from the galley, not noticing that Long-Nose's hot chocolate had gone largely untouched and was still sitting cooling on the table.

\- - -

In the morning, Zoro awoke to Luffy, sitting in a chair by Nami's bedside, talking softly to her. He sat up and stretched, watching.

"Oi, oi, Nami, come on! Vivi thinks we'll find an island soon… and you'll get better so cheer up! Come on…" he didn't sound like he actually expected anything of her. 

Zoro joined him by her bedside. "Morning, Zoro." Luffy smiled at him, but he looked tired. 

"Captain," Zoro greeted. 

"Nami keeps getting worse. And we can't help her." He sounded upset. 

Zoro wasn't sure what to say. Upstairs, there was suddenly quite a bit of noise and stomping and yelling: "LUFFY! ISLAND, AN ISLAND!!" 

Luffy immediately perked up. "See, Nami! You're gonna be all better soon!" 

He seemed incredibly relieved. He took Zoro's wrist and pulled him along as he ran upstairs. Zoro followed after him as well as he could, ignoring the throbbing pain in his ankles. 

Zoro went with his Captain to the side of the ship to see an odd shape on the horizon. "Woah!! Snow!? Does that island have snow!? I love snow, this is the best island, there's snow and Nami's gonna get a doctor!!"

The island was oddly-shaped but even from this distance there was white blanketing it. Luffy dragged Zoro towards the figurehead and let go of his wrist to hop up onto it, practically vibrating with energy. 

"Luffy, calm down, we don't even know if there's anyone o-" Princess began, but Cook interrupted her. 

"He's a lost cause at this point." 

"Luffy, it's freezing, are you really only wearing  _ that? _ " Long-Nose asked, gesturing at Luffy's vest and shorts. "And you, too!" He pointed at Zoro. 

Zoro stiffened and was about to apologize when Luffy suddenly turned around. "AH! IT'S COLD!"

Long-Nose smacked himself in the forehead but left and returned with Luffy's coat and the one they'd bought for Zoro - Luffy was still too enamored with the snow on the still-distant island to get his own coat himself.

They almost couldn't reach it fast enough. Zoro watched it slowly drift closer and closer until after a half an hour they were sailing by its shore. It was quiet and peaceful and very, very snowy. The bright white was assaulting Zoro's eyes but he couldn't help but feel his captain's excitement over it. It was sparkling in the light and he couldn't remember the last time he'd seen the stuff. 

Cook spoke up behind them. "Who's going on land to look for a doctor?"

Luffy's hand shot up. "Me! Me! Me, me, me!!"

Cook nodded. "I know, idiot captain. Who  _ else? _ "

"I'll go." Zoro said, but Long-Nose immediately butted in. 

"No! No way! You shouldn't even be moving, honestly, we need a doctor for you, too!"

Zoro looked at Cook to find him nodding. "He's right, Zoro. You should stay on the ship."

Zoro was about to respond when a deep voice rang out from the shore. "Stop right there, Pirates!" He looked up to see a group of people in winter clothing, ankle deep in snow, led by a green-clad man. "Turn around and leave this island at once."

Luffy stepped forward to the railing. "Wait, wait! We just want a doctor!"

Princess stepped up beside him. "We have a sick person on board and she needs attention so-"

"DON'T LIE TO US, PIRATES!!" Another man yelled, and several similar exclamations came from the group. Zoro narrowed his eyes. He didn't like these people. 

"This is our island and we won't let you stinking pirates do as you please! Pull up your anchor and get away from here!" Another yelled and a resounding cry of agreement rose from the others.

"Talk about a shitty first impression." Cook muttered. Zoro had to agree. 

Then, a lot happened very suddenly. There was a loud bang, a bullet hit the deck where Cook's foot had been (Zoro reached for his swords at this) and Cook lunged towards the men on the shore in anger. Princess jumped out and grabbed him, stopping him, and then there was another bang and she fell with a scream, clutching at her shoulder. 

"VIVI!" Luffy screamed, and then his gaze swept over to the man holding the gun, the one who'd done the deed, and said, with more rage in his voice than Zoro had ever heard, "How  _ dare _ you!!" 

"Prepare to fire! The green-clad man yelled, and Zoro lowered himself, taking his swords in his hands to join his Captain who was preparing to leap on shore and make these men  _ pay _ . 

Luffy moved forward but didn't get far because Princess was now preventing him from fighting. "NO!" she yelled. "This isn't something you can solve by fighting, Luffy! The bullet only grazed my arm, don't be angry!"

Luffy stilled so Zoro followed suit, eyes widening when Princess dropped onto her hands and knees and lowered her head to the wooden deck. "Please, we promise not to set foot on your island so I beg of you, send a doctor over, our friend is gravely ill and in danger of dying! Please, help her!"

Zoro didn't like seeing Princess kneel. 

"Luffy. You're failing your duty as captain. Fighting won't solve anything. What will become of Nami if you start a fight? Think of your crew." 

Luffy was silent for a moment, staring at her. He then slowly turned to face the men on the shore. "I'm sorry! I was wrong!" He bowed next to Princess. "We only ask for a doctor. Please, save our friend!"

Zoro liked seeing Luffy kneel even less. 

The men lowered their guns. "We'll lead you to our town. Follow me." The green man said. 

But it worked. 

"See, Luffy?" Princess turned her head to face him. "They listened."

Luffy nodded at her. "You're amazing, Vivi."

The two stood up, and Zoro was thankful for that. The kneeling had helped, had  _ worked _ , had likely just  _ saved Nami's life, _ but he didn't have to like it. His hand still itched to reach for his swords and test out his santoryu on these men who dared to hurt one of his nakama, to make his Captain kneel.

He stared at Princess's back, at the blood soaking her shoulder. 

Wait, nakama?

She was, wasn't she? Zoro vaguely wondered when that had happened.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As usual, please leave a comment! It makes me very very happy!


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ohhh my god hello. It's been a month. Longer. I am so so sorry, this chapter fought me and fought me all the way through.  
> I'm not going to lie. Every time I write something that didn't happen in canon I thrive. But rewriting and reworking the original story? I'm horrible at it and I struggle terribly.   
> I think I ended up with something decent though, and I'm sorry if it seems forced or not as good.   
> It is much longer than my usual updates, though, so I guess that's my apology for the wait!

The locals didn't give them much time to get ready, but it was long enough for Cook to turn to Long-Nose and ask that Zoro come with them. "He needs a doctor, too," he explained.

Zoro remained quiet, though he was happy they were considering letting him go - he didn't like the locals and didn't want to leave his nakama alone with them. Also, the snow excited him. He'd seen snow a few times before back in Shimotsuki. His memories of it were foggy at best, though, and the way the snow on this new island sparkled in the sunlight even through the clouds was beckoning him. 

Long-Nose agreed, though obviously begrudgingly. He brightened considerably, though, at the smile Zoro gave him when he conceded. 

"Just… no fighting. And no running! Don't pull your stitches out." Long-Nose insisted as he waved goodbye at them from the ship - he'd agreed to watch it.

Cook was carrying Nami on his back - they'd wrapped her in coats and blankets to keep the chill of the wind off her. 

The duck was on the ship - Princess had informed them that the cold was not good for him. Now she was up talking to the green-clad man, who Zoro was keeping a close eye on. He wasn't about to trust him after his men shot her. Luffy was right behind them, and Zoro walked next to him.

They came to a little town nestled against the side of a forested mountain and almost buried in snow. The green man led them to a house where he invited them inside. Apparently the only doctor was very old and lived at the top of one of the mountains. That was all Zoro caught, though, because Luffy grabbed his arm and pulled him outside, where he happily flopped into the snow. After a moment of surprise, Zoro followed suit. 

They laid together in the quiet, the snow already on the ground cradling their bodies as more began to fall from the sky, little flakes drifting down and joining the others in the deep blanket of white. It was serene and peaceful. 

"I'm so glad we're gonna find a doctor." Luffy broke the silence. 

Zoro nodded. He hadn't liked seeing Nami sick, and Luffy's failed attempts at cheering her up were just as bad. They laid silently in the snow for a long while in quiet companionship, and Zoro savored the moment, sinking into the tranquility.

After a long while filled with only snow and comfortable silence, Cook exited the house to get them. "Luffy, we need you in here." He announced.

Luffy was up in a moment, ready to listen, so Zoro followed his example and allowed his Captain to lead him inside. He was vaguely sad that the quiet moment was over, but was eager to get Nami help quickly. 

Once inside, Cook quickly explained to them that the doctor they were looking for lived at the top of the mountain and only ever came down when she felt like it. They couldn't call her and had no clue when she'd return. 

Upon hearing this, Luffy walked to Nami's bed and patted her cheek. "Oi, Nami," he said quite loudly, making her open her eyes just the slightest bit. 

Cook didn't like this and took a step forward to yell at their Captain, but Zoro grabbed his wrist to stop him going any further. Luffy had that look about him. The one full of determination and fierce resolve. 

Cook glanced at him, seeming surprised, and then Luffy was speaking again. "Oi, Nami. Listen, we can't get a doctor till she comes down the mountain. So we're climbing up."

Zoro blinked at that and he felt Cook's wrist in his hand go limp, likely in the same surprise. Then, it tensed again. "Are you crazy!? You can't subject Nami to that!"

Zoro knew his captain could do the impossible, but he had to agree. That was a sheer cliff face, he'd stared at those mountains on the way here enough to know that. 

"I'll carry her." Luffy said, and any doubt Zoro had vanished. 

Princess had a rebuttal to that and while Zoro understood, he knew that his captain would be carrying Nami up that cliff and no argument would stop him. 

"What's the big deal?" Luffy asked. "The doctor isn't coming down. Nami needs a doctor soon. We gotta bring her up to the doctor."

Cook tensed beside Zoro like he had something to say, but Nami moved her hand and he went quiet. She was looking up at Luffy, eyes lidded with exhaustion and face flushed. "Luffy, I'm in your hands." She held her hand up to him. It trembled but she held it steady when Luffy high fived it and clasped it in his own.

Cook sighed. "Our navigator is as crazy as our captain." He muttered, holding his forehead in one hand. He was smiling, though, as he looked up. "Well, if you're going, I'm coming too."

Luffy nodded. 

It wasn't long before Nami was hefted up to a piggyback position on Luffy's back. Princess tied a rope around them both, securing her in place so Luffy was free to move his arms.

"Yosh!" Luffy said, punching one fist into his open hand. "Let's go, Sanji!"

Cook nodded, and then they were running off together in the snow.

Zoro stared after them, vaguely feeling worried and nervous at their departure but also emboldened by Princess's presence. He'd wanted to join them, but Cook had shut that down quickly, saying Zoro still needed to heal. He couldn't find it in himself to be angry or frustrated, though. Cook was right.

He stood next to Princess and stayed next to her even after the green man invited them back inside. When they both remained still he sat in the snow next to them. 

"You know, this island didn't always have only one doctor. We had many, until several months ago…" 

The man went into detail about the country's past, about how they'd had a kind king who cared for them but he had died, and how his son had been a tyrant, had held any chance at medical help over their heads when they'd needed it. 

Princess seemed quite angry the longer he mentioned the past ruler's misdeeds, and Zoro didn't know how it happened, but his hand ended up in hers. The green man went on, then, about how a pirate had attacked, had destroyed their country. He continued with the description of how their king hadn't even attempted to fight, had run away without any thought for his people. 

At this, Princess's grip on Zoro's hand tightened, so Zoro squeezed back. "That man…! He was no leader! No leader can turn his back on his country! That's despicable!" 

The green-clad man nodded his head. 

"The pirates left not long after, though. Some of us think their attack was a blessing in disguise. Wapol is gone now, and we have been rebuilding."

Princess slowly relaxed, and Zoro felt relieved that she wasn't going to remain so troubled. 

"Wapol… Wapol. I have heard that name…" she seemed deep in thought, and Zoro wasn't about to interrupt that. He quietly watched her think.

Before she could come to a conclusion, though, a woman approached and went to the green man. "You said you had some people wanting to see the doctor, yes?"

"I, yes, but they've already -"

"Good news! She's been sighted in the next village over!"

The doctor was not at the top of the mountain. Luffy, at this point, had left almost two hours ago. 

\- - -

The sleigh was racing through the snow. Princess, next to him, was doing her best to navigate using the map that the green man had given her - he'd been with them before, had apologized and taken them at top speed to the next town. The doctor was sighted there not long after Luffy and Cook left, meaning even if they got to the top of the mountain, there may not be anyone there to treat Nami.

They'd hurried to catch up with her but upon their arrival she was gone, and in worse news the pirate who attacked the crew the other day was attacking the town they'd just left. Apparently this pirate was the same tyrant king that the green man had told them of, and was seeking to take back his country. The green man had immediately rushed back the way they'd come after he gave them the map and pointed out the town the doctor had headed towards. 

They couldn't really read the map, though. Zoro had no idea which way was which. It was like every time he looked up from the map in Princess's hands, their surroundings had moved. He couldn't make sense of it. 

"Maybe we should go back and restart? I don't even know that we can get back there at this point, though… we're lost."

Then, out of nowhere, there was a rumbling that became louder and louder, and the two of them looked up the mountain only to see a massive wave of snow heading down it, right towards them. The deer pulling their sleigh turned and began to bolt down the mountain, but they were no match for the snow. Zoro stared back at it and grabbed Princess just before it engulfed them, wrapping his arms tightly around her, and then it was very loud and there was a lot of cold and jostling and pieces of ice and snow kept hitting him. He cried out, his voice tiny in comparison to the avalanche, when Princess was ripped from his arms. Not long after that, the snow came to a stop and it was dark, pressure pushing him in on all sides. His chest hurt. Everything hurt. He squirmed but the snow held fast and he had no idea how far buried he was.

It took him a moment to come to the realization that there wasn't any air here under the snow, but by that point his limbs felt weak and he could do nothing other than lay there. It was cold, cold, cold, and heavy, heavy, heavy, and it only became more so until his world drifted to black.

\- - -

The agent stepped off his little unmarked ship with a crew of eight sailors. They were silent, eyes on the shore and posture stiff - their mission was to watch the ship until he was back, and failure to please an agent like him… well, they knew what the consequences may be. 

As the scent of death hit his nose, he once again internally cursed this mission. The fat fuck that had demanded his slave back had probably even forgotten about his tantrum by now. Still, though, the whims of the World Nobles were to be followed, and for a Cipher Pol agent, disobedience wasn't an option. He'd known that his whole life, though. Known they'd use him up until he could no longer serve and then kill him and discard his body. There was no quitting. 

He didn't really mind the stench of death, of course. In his line of work a queasiness around blood and the deceased was a laughable weakness. No, he'd been bred for this, trained from a young age to kill and commit acts that he knew he didn't understand the depravity of. 

So, the smell didn't disgust him. It just wasn't pleasant. And it clung to him. And it also meant there may not be anyone here to question.

He reached a small town, saw bloodstains on the ground and knew there had been a gory battle. But there were no bodies. Good - someone had buried them, or at least moved them. Someone had born witness to this event and removed the losers from town. There was someone to question here, somewhere. 

Not for the first time, he wished that the crew he pursued was more infamous. He was only  _ pretty _ sure they'd landed at this island. The lighthouse keeper had been vague, and the agent knew he'd been a Roger. He was not going to dirty his hands with the Rogers. They were still around, crawling through the woodworks, and a crew like that wouldn't take kindly to the killing of former nakama. 

He couldn't ask the man - Crocus, he knew he was called - directly about the Straw Hats. So, he'd had to delicately skirt the edges of the topic of them to somehow find the same answer. He'd inquired about visitors the old man had gotten. He only mentioned a few whalers who had  _ visited him _ (considering the giant whale that was watching their every move, it was likely not just a friendly visit) and then hitched a ride with some pirates back to their town.

Pirates, a week and a half prior. A little after Captain Smoker had reported them leaving Loguetown.

So, he'd managed to find the nearest island - Whiskey Peak. An island of bounty hunters who disguised themselves as normal townsfolk, if his information was correct. It was late afternoon. Other than the smell of blood and death still hanging around, he was alone. 

Many of the doors to houses were ajar, but there was one nearby that was closed, perhaps locked. 

He made his way there and knocked on the door, which, like everything else, was soaked in blood. He heard movement inside. Good. 

It was a while, but the door swung open just a little and a hulking woman revealed herself. Bandages covered her, but there was a bloody one on her arm that told him it had been cut off recently, perhaps in that battle. The blood was old, dried. They didn't have the resources to care for themselves, then.

In the poorly illuminated room beyond, a smaller figure stood. He was leaning heavily on the wall, a bulk on his right leg suggesting a makeshift cast. He was shirtless and bloody bandages were wrapped tightly around his chest. 

"What do you want." The woman rasped. 

"M'crew just anchored here," he began, forgoing any formal language. A sailor who hadn't expected to see such carnage upon his docking seemed like a believable story. "We were hopin' to restock, but-"

The woman cut him off with a harsh laugh. "Won't find anything useful here. We ain't got enough for ourselves. Now scram. Off this island. S'nothing for you here."

She went to shut the door but he blocked it, careful not to use too much strength. "Wait!" He exclaimed as if he couldn't easily overpower the both of them and get the answers he wanted. She did wait, surprisingly. "What happened here?"

She went to slam the door again, and again he stopped it. "Please?"

She glared at him, but the man behind her spoke up. "Miss Monday, it… it can't hurt to tell him."

Miss Monday. Baroque Works, then.

She hesitated, then relented. She opened the door wider. "Come inside."

Inside the house, the smell of death was less pungent, but blood was more so. The agent didn't comment on it, and joined them to sit on the floor. 

The man was much shorter than the woman and walked with a limp. Messy brown hair fell about his face, and on his cheeks were tattooed two nines. 

"It was only a few days ago - a pirate crew docked here." He began. "We - we were hospitable to them. That night, though… one of their crew came from the room we gave them and attacked us. We - we stood no chance. He was like an animal with two swords. I've never seen such bloodlust."

"Who was he?"

"Zoro - I heard them call him that. He was - when they were with him he was docile, I didn't hear a word out of him. No one expected it. He didn't say anything while we fought. And he - he was  _ smiling _ ."

The woman nodded. "I caught him by the neck. He didn't waste a moment and the next thing I knew my arm was just  _ gone _ and he was off spilling more and more blood - " she cut herself off. 

"Who was the crew?"

"A - a low bounty. Monkey D. Luffy was the captain. We didn't even think anything of them, the captain was some goofy kid…"

They were his targets, then. 

\- - -

"MISTER BUSHIDO!" Vivi called as soon as she extracted herself from the snow, unharmed save for perhaps a few bruises. There was no sign of the swordsman. She had little clue where he'd ended up, and all she could see was the blanket of white covering everything. There was no sign of another person. Not even the sleigh they'd been riding on was visible, nor the deer that had pulled it. She shivered with cold - the snow had gotten up under her coat and gloves and melted from her body heat. 

"ZORO!!" She called again. There was no response and worry filled her as she began to trudge through the snow. Was he buried? How could she tell where? She couldn't recognize her surroundings, had no idea how far the snow had pushed her and how far it may have pushed the swordsman. 

If he was buried, she only had a few minutes to find him or else he'd suffocate. Her breathing was shaky and she felt tense, but no. No, she wouldn't cry. If she stopped here and cried it would do no good. Dread filled her even as she called for him again. Should she find help? They were so far from any town that anyone she found wouldn't arrive in time. 

She kneeled down and got to digging around where the avalanche had pushed her. Maybe they'd ended up in the same place.

A long, long time of searching revealed nothing. Vivi was tired. Zoro was nowhere to be found. Vivi's hands trembled both with cold and exhaustion. Her clothes were soaked now from both melted snow and cold sweat. She didn't know what to do.

\- - -

When Zoro awoke he was swaddled in warmth, laying in a bed. The sheets didn't feel like Nami's bed. He opened his eyes. The light was bright in here. Unfamiliar. He saw a stone ceiling and stone walls around him, lined with shelves and books and trinkets. All unfamiliar. Zoro chewed on the inside of his cheek. He sat up, and his eyes widened with the lack of pain at doing so. The aches in his chest and the burns on his torso still hurt, but not nearly so much as he was used to. As he pulled his legs to place his feet on the floor, he noticed a lack of the now-familiar stinging pain in his ankles. He was covered in clean, restrictive bandages. He stood up, marvelling at how his ankles only hurt a little. The room was empty other than himself. Should he sit and wait? Or should he try and learn his whereabouts? 

Where had he been before? He sat back down and ran his hand through his hair and froze. 

"Vivi," he breathed. 

They'd been buried in the snow. He'd been about to die. He'd been saved. Had she been saved too? Or had she died? He needed to find her. He stood again and stumbled forwards, head spinning. 

A huge form came through the doorway and Zoro froze. It didn't look at him - it was holding two figures who were covered in snow and both limp. A woman followed it in, carrying a significantly less snow-covered form. Zoro stared, eyes wide.

"Nami!"

If that was Nami, then -

He glanced at the other two, who the huge form was laying on two cots similar to the one he'd been on. "Luffy! Coo-" 

He was cut off when the woman, having laid Nami on the largest bed in the room, pushed him backwards and onto his bed. "Stay. You've been moving with those injuries far too much, idiot. Do you know these people?" 

Zoro nodded mutely. He couldn't make his arms work. The woman was wearing sunglasses but even through them he felt like the look she fixed him was paralyzing him. Not with fear, not really. It was something else. 

"They will be fine. My student and I will care for them. Lie back and sleep. 

She glanced away and Zoro's frozen state was broken. "But  _ Vivi  _ -" 

She glared at him again and he stiffened.

He couldn't find the strength to move or speak again as she pushed him once more to lay down. "Sleep. God, you young people want to do so much at once. Heal, first." 

She then turned and went to Nami's bed, where he couldn't see what she was doing. 

To his other side, the creature was pulling off Luffy's ice-crusted clothes and easing him into what looked like a tub of water. It then turned to Cook. 

Zoro blinked once and the huge figure had disappeared. Sitting on the cot next to Cook was a small figure with hooves instead of hands. It wore an oversized pink hat and had a pair of horns and animal-like ears. 

Zoro looked around. Where had the other creature gone?

He couldn't see what the creature was doing, but now he was feeling tired again. The sheets were so warm and now that he thought of it, his body was still exhausted. 

Vaguely as he fell asleep he realized that the two strangers must be doctors, and that Nami was getting the care she'd needed. 

He awoke to a high-pitched screech of fear and opened his eyes just in time to see the small creature run past followed closely by Luffy, who was also screaming, but less in fear, and more in… well, Zoro didn't know what emotion that was. He was used to it though. It was something akin to excitement but it was the special kind of excitement that only Luffy himself could feel and instill in others. 

Just hearing that tone of screaming as Luffy chased the creature out of the room was enough to put Zoro at ease. The two then came in another door into the room - they must've looped back around. He heard Cook groan on the other side of him and he saw a blue eye open and meet his, then widen. 

By this point the two were gone, but then by the time Cook spoke, they were back, racing through the other door. "Zoro?"

Luffy froze mid-chase. "Zoro!??"

The creature kept running, screaming wildly. The noise faded and then got louder as he looped back into the room and smacked into Luffy, then quickly jumped away and lunged behind a bookcase. Or - he wasn't really behind it. His body was poised as if he was hiding, but…

"Oi, isn't that backwards?" Cook asked. 

The creature quickly fixed his mistake. 

Zoro stared, and he knew Luffy and Cook were doing the same. Then, he stiffened. "Luffy!  _ Vivi-! _ " 

Luffy looked at him. "Vivi? What about her?

Zoro tensed. He lowered his eyes and clenched his fists where they sat in his lap - at some point he'd sat up. 

"We were in a sleigh… the snow came down the mountain and hit us - buried us…"

He'd failed so badly. Vivi might have died. Died because he couldn't hold onto her. Couldn't protect her from  _ snow _ of all things. He brought his knees up. If she was dead it was  _ his _ fault. He'd killed her. He'd killed his nakama and Luffy would never-

"Oi, Zoro. Zoro!" Luffy was calling, and a hand took his fist and managed to interlace their fingers. 

Zoro couldn't look at him. He squeezed the hand tightly. 

"You two got caught in the avalanche?" Cook asked, voice tinged with worry. 

"I found him buried in the snow…" a small voice piped up and the three of them whirled their heads to see the little creature, 

Zoro only wondered at its ability to speak for a moment, Cook interrupting his thoughts. "Did you see a woman with him?"

The little thing shook his head. "Only him… if she was with him I think she must have been further away…" he then suddenly ducked behind the bookcase with a squeak and remained hidden. Luffy made his way to the little thing and there was another yell when he grabbed him. 

The thing began to run again. Luffy followed him. Cook followed Luffy. Zoro stood to follow Cook but a hand pushed him back down. The woman had appeared again. 

" _ You _ shouldn't be stressing your ankles. The stitches will rip and bleed again." 

Zoro obeyed, still transfixed by what made him do so - she wasn't his Captain or his Master, not even his Nakama. But he stayed still even after she left the room. 

The little thing soon returned again, hiding again in the doorway and staring at Zoro with big, round eyes. It seemed he'd lost Luffy and Cook.

There was a soft groan across the room. Nami sat up. Sat up, of her own strength. That was enough for Zoro to forget that the doctor wanted him to stay put. He stood and made his way to her. He joined her on the bed.

"Zoro!" She sounded surprised, but she accepted his embrace, returning the gesture with still-weak arms. 

"Nami," Zoro said softly, and pressed his chin into her shoulder to prove to himself she was real. Real, sitting up on her own strength, not too hot or cold.

He pulled back and saw she was staring at him. He looked down. "I'm sorry."

That brought her out of her trance and she frowned. Zoro stiffened, but she only put her hand gently on his cheek. "Don't apologize, Zoro."

He leaned into the hand, relaxing. 

Nami's eyes went to the little creature, still cowering the wrong way in the doorway. Zoro followed suit. 

"Isn't that backwards?" She asked, and the creature corrected himself. "Well, now I've seen you. Don't hide, come out." 

The creature did no such thing, leaning further behind the door frame with an exclaimed "No! Don't tell me what to do, human!"

Zoro saw Nami smile. "Where am I?" She then asked. 

"In the castle at the top of the mountain. Doctorine and I have cared for you." The small voice came, nervous. The creature seemed to conceal himself more with every syllable. 

"Oh, well you two have done an amazing job, then… I feel so much better. Thank you." She bowed her head. 

Even behind the door, Zoro could hear and partially see hooves clacking on the ground, little arms wiggling and head tilting as the creature squeaked in happiness. "Stooop it!! That compliment  _ doesn't  _ make me happy, asshole!!" 

He certainly sounded happy. 

Nami giggled, and Zoro smiled at the sound. 

He squeezed her hand. He didn't know when it had ended up in his, but he was happy it was. 

\- - -

The agent sighed as the man fell to the ground with the wet slap that a bloody corpse made. He hadn't really wanted to kill the two of them, but he'd become too bold with his questions. They'd been onto him. 

He had his answer now, though. Alabasta. The crew had taken on the princess of the country and were taking her home. 

He walked back to his little ship, not noticing the vulture that took to the air and flew away, an otter on its back. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope that was alright!  
> Also I'm so sorry for killing those two. They did not deserve it. I hope you enjoyed, though! As usual, comments are so so so welcome and encouraged!!   
> Honestly also if you have any ideas for places this could go, drop them here!   
> I'd like to admit I have no solid plan here, just things I'm pretty sure I'd like to happen and a vague idea of where I'm ending!


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey y'all! Welcome back! Hope the wait wasn't too long :)  
> Big thank-you to BookCreature for beta reading this chapter!  
> Also important note! Chapter 1 has been rewritten and is like double the length now! Please go reread, it's much, much better now and I'm quite proud of it!   
> Anyways, into the chapter! Enjoy!

Vivi's legs had long gone numb. She had had no luck finding Zoro, and no luck finding help to find Zoro. It was getting dark, now, and she was shaking so badly that she thought even if she found the swordsman, she would be unable to help him. 

With each step her legs wanted to give out. The numbness was painful. But if she stopped she would fall and freeze here in the snow, and what good would that do? Tears had begun to sting her eyes and she'd forced them back. The ones that did get out froze on her face. She'd found friends. Friends who were willing to help her. And what had she done? Repaid them by getting one of their friends killed. Guilt constricted her chest and breathing hurt as a result of both it and the cold air. 

In the dying light she caught sight of the coast. She'd been staggering down the mountain for hours but now she let her legs speed up. 

A small group of trees covered her view of the shore, but as she moved, she could see past them. Could see Merry bobbing gently where it was tethered by the shore. 

Vivi's pace sped up more, if possible, and she tripped with a weak cry, tumbled down the remainder of the hill and came to a stop. Her limbs decided to give up, then, and try as she might she could not get up. 

She heard a loud quack. Carue. Thank goodness. 

A louder quack, and then Usopp's voice, and then two thuds nearby. Then there were arms picking her up from the snow. She could barely open her eyes, but she did and she saw Usopp's face, his brow furrowed in worry as he slowly stood with her in his arms. 

There was suddenly a loud crack and the sky lit up. Vivi could see the breath she let out when the snow that had at some point begun to fall was tinged pink. It was then that she couldn't keep her eyes open anymore and she relaxed into Usopp's hold, not quite unconscious yet as she felt him heft her onto Carue, who jumped onto the ship with her. 

"U-uh, Vivi, I'm gonna change your clothes." Usopp sounded flustered, but Vivi nodded her consent. Warm, dry clothes sounded pretty good right now. 

\- - -

Tears were still stinging Chopper's eyes when he stood at the railing of this unfamiliar ship,  _ his new home _ , and watched the pink-tinged clouds over the Drum Rockies shrink into the darkness of the night. 

The humans - his new friends, God, that was so strange to think - had assured him they'd put the green-haired one in a bed so that he could stare in wonder at his father's cure without worrying about him. 

Now, the island was barely visible, and Chopper closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He turned away from his childhood home to face his new one. He breathed out and opened his eyes, and immediately felt the need to hide. Five faces were staring back at him

"So, is anyone gonna explain the weird raccoon-dog or are Carue and I just supposed to accept him?" An unfamiliar human asked. Chopper shrank back against the railing and stared at him, surprised. This human had black, curly hair and a long nose, and he didn't sound or look very old. He didn't seem threatening, but Chopper was still apprehensive.

Luffy, the one who had fought for him, called him  _ friend _ , immediately grinned wider (how was that possible?) and turned to the unfamiliar human. 

"It's Chopper! He's our new nakama!!" He chirped happily. 

Chopper felt pride at being referred to so joyously. Was that what acceptance felt like? He found himself smiling and felt his skin heat up under his fur. It was such a  _ nice _ feeling, very similar to the one that had filled him at Luffy's insistence that he join their crew. 

The new human was dumbfounded a moment. 

"He's a doctor!" The red-head -  _ Nami _ , he told himself - supplied, and the new one's face absolutely  _ lit up.  _

"Oh, thank  _ God  _ -" 

"HE'S A DOCTOR!?" Luffy suddenly yelled, and he was suddenly in front of Chopper's face, very close to him. "YOU'RE A DOCTOR!?" 

Chopper shrank back and he saw a look of shock on the blonde's face as well. The redhead smacked her forehead in frustration, foot tapping as her hand then moved to pinch the bridge of her nose. "Why did you even  _ invite  _ him if you didn't know he was a doctor!?"

Luffy's head turned to face her. "Cool reindeer monster."

"Emergency food source." The blonde added without missing a beat.

… Chopper was going to ignore that.

Suddenly, Luffy was pulled away and the new human was crouched in front of him. "You have  _ no idea  _ how long we've needed a doctor, I could just kiss you right now!"

Chopper heard a high whine and then realized it was coming from his own throat. He was smiling so hard his cheeks hurt and  _ how could this human get past his defences so easily? _

He shuffled his feet and tried to still the happy twitching that his arms wanted to make. His face was burning up. "Asshole! Don't think you'll make me happy talking like you need me!!"

The new human blinked. "You look pretty happy to me… oh!! But someone's gotta show you around the Merry, and I,  _ Captain Usopp the Great, _ will show you everything you need to know!!" He announced, turning to wrap an arm over Chopper's shoulders and picking him up in the process. 

"CAPTAIN!?" He'd thought Luffy was the captain. But  _ Usopp the Great _ ? With a name like that?? There was no way he could be anything else!

Nami was suddenly in front of them, smacking Usopp the Great's head. "Don't lie. Chopper, Usopp's not the captain, he's our resident liar."

" _ Oi! _ " Usopp hissed. 

"But he should still show you around! The rest of us will make sure the ship's properly underway."

And then Luffy was next to her. "For Alabasta!?" He half-screamed. 

Nami nodded. "For Alabasta."

Luffy grinned, jumping up and down in place for a moment before turning to the blonde and the duck and pumping his arm in the air. "SET SAIL FOR ALABASTA!!"

The four crew who were on deck seemed very eager to get the ship moving. Usopp led Chopper all over the deck of the ship, dodging between the bodies of Luffy and the blonde - his name was Sanji - as they ran about the deck. 

"These are Nami's mikans! Don't touch them unless you want to face her wrath! That's the crow's nest up there, for when we're on watch! And that's Luffy's special seat! Don't sit on it without permission - he's possessive of it." 

Then it was into the galley, the boys' bunk room, the bathroom, the storage room and finally the girls' room, where unlike what Chopper had expected, there were two forms laying on the bed, one awake, one asleep. 

The conscious one was the green-haired one. "Hi, Zoro!" Usopp greeted when he entered.

Chopper had met him up on the mountain.

Next to Zoro lay another human, female, unconscious. 

"You didn't tell me there were two patients!" Chopper immediately ran ahead of Usopp to see the both of them and to get a better look at the female. He'd like to do a check-up on her.

He looked back at Usopp, who just shrugged. 

"Who is she? What happened to her?" Chopper asked, climbing onto the bed and past Zoro, who had sat up and was leaning on the headboard. He felt her neck for her pulse, and found it to be normal. 

"She's Vivi. One of our crew - or - yeah, one of our crew." came the response from behind him. "She got, uh. Caught in an avalanche. She showed up at the ship all wet and cold, so we warmed her up and she's sleeping it off."

"Frostbite?" Chopper asked, looking at her fingers, which were red and looked agitated. 

"Yeah. It wasn't horrible, so I warmed her up and - " 

"Slowly?" Chopper cut him off. 

"Yes. Slowly. You think she's alright?" Usopp sounded worried. 

Chopper nodded, satisfied. "I want to examine her when she wakes up, though. Zoro was in the same avalanche and he wasn't unscathed. Actually, I want to examine all of you so I can properly treat you all now and in the future."

Usopp nodded, actually seeming quite happy when Chopper turned to look at him. "Once everyone's rested up and the ship's on course tomorrow, you can start with that."

Chopper smiled.

\- - -

That evening Chopper had perhaps the best meal he'd had in his entire life, and he learned that Usopp was very, very good at coming up with the most exaggerated and exciting lies he'd ever heard. He also learned that Usopp had been the acting doctor ever since his joining, and that he'd been doing his best but was no professional. 

He was surprised when the entire crew brought their bedding down to the girls' room to keep Zoro and Vivi company rather than sleeping in the boys' room. Usopp took the first watch for the night, something that had confused Chopper at first but made sense when he thought about it. He agreed to take second watch, since he knew he'd like the quiet time to think. 

He also learned that Luffy was a cuddler. His new captain was currently hugging him like a stuffed animal, curled around him despite their hardly knowing each other. He struggled at first but Luffy's hold was unrelenting and he had to give up. He realized the feeling of being held wasn't entirely unpleasant. 

He slept for the first half of the night and was surprised at how easy it was. 

When Usopp woke him for his watch he felt well-rested. He climbed up into the crow's nest and relaxed against its wall to watch the calm, black sea. 

He thought on the previous day. It had been normal, at first, and then he'd found Zoro in the snow and returned home to treat him only to be greeted with three more patients - Luffy, Nami and Sanji. Then Wapol, the man who'd terrorized his country had returned. 

Luffy and Sanji fought, and Chopper was impressed with their strength. He'd never seen such unwavering ambition. His father's romanticism of pirates and the wonder Chopper himself had taken in those stories came back to him. 

He'd realized it was time to experience those stories for himself, or, at least Luffy had forced him to. 

_ "Shut up! Let's go!" _

That was all it had taken. After only one evening, Chopper was pretty sure he'd made the right decision.

Nothing happened that night and when he descended from the mast the next morning at the sounds of activity below he was surprised to find the cook - Sanji - in the kitchen already. When he entered, the blonde didn't look at him as he spoke. "Do you like coffee or hot chocolate?" 

At his stammered answer of hot chocolate - he hadn't expected the question - Sanji immediately got to work making the drink for him. 

He felt a warm tingling in his chest when the cook set the mug in front of him with a kind smile, and the tingling grew when he took a sip and the creamy, warm, chocolatey deliciousness hit his tongue and warmed his whole body as he drank it. 

Sanji's resulting smile had him staring down at his lap, blushing furiously. 

"You're a funny guy, Chopper. How was your first night?" The cook had asked. 

After the first few awkward lines back and forth, Chopper found it surprisingly easy to fall into conversation with the cook. 

The other crew members trickled in after a while, first Nami, then Usopp, and then, to Chopper's surprise, Vivi. He didn't know why he was surprised. She'd just been tired. A night's sleep had been all that she needed. 

She fixed him with an odd look, not recognizing him. 

Behind her, Carue quacked, introducing her, and Chopper smiled. "I know, Usopp told me!" 

Carue pushed Vivi to sit near Chopper and planted himself on the bench between the two of them, quacking again that he was happy to have someone to talk to. Chopper found himself giggling and blushing at having found yet another friend so quickly. 

Then he realized Vivi was staring at him. "Ah! Uh- I'm Tony Tony Chopper! I just joined! I'm a doctor!" He squeaked, hiding behind Carue.

Vivi seemed to accept that and then asked whether he understood her duck. He'd said yes, and then relayed Carue's very excited message that Vivi was very awesome and super cool, and then he was happy to act as a translator between the two, who had apparently never had two-way verbal communication before. All throughout breakfast he spoke with the two of them.

Vivi praised his abilities and he felt incredibly giddy at that. 

So far, being a pirate was heaven. He had friends and they accepted him! Luffy was childlike and clingy and warm. Usopp was playful and boisterous and welcoming. Nami was kind and full of compliments. Sanji was easy to talk to and an amazing cook. Carue seemed to just enjoy being near someone who understood him. Vivi was sweet and gentle.

He felt all warm inside thinking about it. The only one he didn't yet know much about was the green-haired one. Zoro. 

All he knew was that he'd worried for Vivi before and that he was close with the others. That, and the scars. The man was covered in them, such a concerning amount of scars that Chopper couldn't begin to fathom how they'd been acquired. And then, of course, there was how beat up he was compared to the others he'd treated. They'd all been bruised and cold and had a few broken bones between them, but Zoro had been the worst. He had to wonder what kind of personality had acquired such damage. He was a little afraid. 

After their wonderful breakfast Chopper asked if he could examine each of the crew members. As Usopp had said, they were all happy to comply with the examination. 

He saw Nami first. He still needed to treat her for her sickness, so he figured he'd start with that first thing. For privacy's sake he turned the boys' bunk room into his office for the day and the others agreed to stay out. 

Nami was a healthy woman (other than the almost-lethal Casha infection), aged 18. He asked her general questions about allergies and any drugs she'd taken and her blood type, if she knew it. Then he measured her height and weight, and then he got on to the examination. Other than the bites on her side, which had caused the infection, she had a few nasty bruises and burns on her arms and torso. When Chopper asked, she said she'd been attacked by a devil fruit user on the same island she'd been bitten on. The wounds were healing well and would only take a week or so to heal fully under his care. Just to be careful, he rebandaged them. He also found, under the ink of the tattoo on her arm, many rather new scars. When he asked about the source and whether any pain ever came from the old wounds, which had obviously been deep, she brushed him off, seeming a little uncomfortable but still deciding to tell him that they were stab wounds from a knife and that no, they no longer bothered her. He got the same answer for the scar on her hand. Deciding not to push it, he gave her the medication for her sickness and sent her off, telling her to send in the next person she saw and to avoid any strenuous activity. 

Next came Usopp, who was aged 17. He had the same bruises all over his body, though in his case there were more than Nami had. When asked he gave the same explanation she had. Other than those, which were healing well, he had no other injuries. He didn't seem to have any old injuries, and any scars he did have were from mishaps when he'd been younger. Just like with Nami, Chopper tended to his wounds and told him to get another crew member. 

Vivi came next, and she was aged 16. Other than some minor bruising and the remnants of frostbite from the avalanche, she had few injuries. Chopper simply asked her the same questions he'd asked the others, measured her height and weight, and let her go on her way, telling her to send the next member down. 

"Tony-kun, would you be able to check on Carue as well?" She asked before leaving. 

Chopper smiled and nodded. "Yes! If you send him down, I'll look at him."

So, Carue came down next. He was a spot-billed duck, 14 years of age. Chopper was no expert on animals, but he took Carue's measurements and asked him if he had any wounds. Carue answered that other than some bruising, he did not have any pains. So, he asked the same questions he had for the other three and then directed the duck to go and get someone else. 

Sanji came next. A human male, aged 19. He answered all of Chopper's questions like the others and Chopper measured his height and weight. He didn't have any very prominent scars, other than the ones that, similar to Usopp, could be attributed to childhood roughhousing. He did not sport the same burns and bruises that Usopp and Nami did, but Chopper did have his still-healing ribs to worry about. He did what he could for the treatment of those, and then….

Then came the cigarette discussion. Sanji was aware that cigarettes were horrible for him. But he wasn't going to stop, even at Chopper's explanations and pleas. He didn't get upset that Chopper was asking, but at every turn he patiently told Chopper that yes, he was aware of the adverse health effects. Yes, he knew he should stop, but no, he wasn't going to. 

Chopper eventually relented and told Sanji to send Luffy in. 

Luffy… was difficult. He was aged 17, like Usopp. He hardly knew the answer to any of Chopper's questions. He wouldn't stop moving so Chopper could weigh and measure him. He had scrapes and bruises and scars all over his entire person, and when asked about them he either answered with "Hm. Dunno," or "Oh! That was cat-guy. Or Arlong? Maybe Smo-guy. Uh. Oh! Nami did that! Wait. No."

He truly had no idea. But apparently none of the scars bothered him so at least there was that. The one scar he got a straight answer about was the one on his face. And it wasn't even one that made sense. "I stabbed myself cause Shanks said I wasn't man enough."

Chopper wasn't even going to question that. After determining that none of the scars were of any concern to him and that they wouldn't affect Luffy, he asked about the burn-bruises. Luffy had the same ones as Usopp and Nami. He gave the same explanation, even if it was jumbled and made no sense. 

So, Chopper bandaged them up like he had with the others, and when the boy was leaving he had to drag him back down to remind him that no, he could not immediately pull those bandages off. He didn't let Luffy leave again until he'd promised to leave them on. 

He followed Luffy out of the boys' dorm after packing his things up. He'd check on Zoro in the girls' room. 

When he entered, Sanji was in there talking with Zoro, and the two looked quite relaxed. Sanji saw Chopper and stood. "Zoro's turn?" He asked. 

Chopper nodded. 

Sanji turned to Zoro. "Chopper cared for you earlier, yeah? He wants to do a check-up on you, since he's our doctor. Will you be okay doing it by yourself?"

Zoro nodded, a smile pinned on his face, and then Sanji exited and the two were alone. 

Chopper took a moment to compose himself. Even if he hardly knew him, he was still just a patient. There was no danger. "Zoro, yeah?" He took a seat on a chair by the bed.

Zoro nodded mutely. The silence was heavy.

"I'm Tony Tony Chopper! I don't think I… introduced myself properly…" he felt bad, but he kept staring at that smile. It had been a little unnerving when he'd entered, but as soon as Sanji left… he inwardly shook his head. "I want to do an examination of anything I'll need to know so I can be a proper doctor for you. Is that alright?"

Zoro nodded, but he kept fidgeting with the hem of his shirt. He was obviously nervous.

"So, er. How old are you, Zoro?"

"19." 

"Right. And… are you on any medication? Pills or other drugs?" 

Zoro shook his head. 

"I'm assuming you get plenty of exercise? Being a pirate and all…" he tried to make a bit of conversation. 

Zoro just nodded. 

"Ah… and… diet… I think Sanji caters to that pretty well… Do you get a lot of different food? Vitamin deficiencies can be a problem on the sea…"

With the others he'd been able to speak professionally. Zoro's eyes seemed to look straight through him, though, and he found he was unable to get used to it. He shifted awkwardly in his chair. 

"...I eat plenty." Came the answer after a long period of time. 

"Do you have any allergies I should know about?"

Zoro silently shook his head. 

"Any chronic pains or diseases you live with?" 

Again, he shook his head. 

"Ah… um… have you been sexually active since the last time you've seen a doctor?" He'd asked this same question of the others. All had said no.

Zoro hesitated for a long time and his dull gaze went to his lap where he was now picking at the calluses on his hands. There was a lot of silence, to the point where Chopper wondered if he understood, but then Zoro nodded. 

"Ah - um, well, I don't… I don't need details… but how long ago was that?" Chopper found himself frowning. 

On the bed, Zoro's legs drew up towards his chest. "A month," he said softly.

"Ah… and… have you had any, uh… discomfort? Anything that hurt you that you think came from that? Even if it's small."

Zoro nodded. Chopper  _ really _ didn't like where this was going, and he didn't know why.

"Would… would you tell me?"

Again, he nodded. "Most's fine now…" he mumbled. "But… inside hurts."

Inside? Chopper stared for a moment before it dawned on him what that meant. He had assumed Zoro had been referring to himself and a female. He hadn't considered…

"Were… were you with a man or a woman?"

"Men," was the answer. Zoro had moved from picking at his calluses to digging his fingernails into his arm. 

Chopper didn't say anything yet, only hopped off his chair to pull the hand away, noting the red crescent shaped indents it left. "Don't hurt yourself." He murmured. Something in him said it wouldn't be that simple.

Zoro nodded slowly. His smile was more of a grimace, now. 

"I won't ask about that anymore, alright? Would you be alright with standing so that I can get your height and weight? It won't be for long - I want to keep your weight off your ankles."

Zoro took a deep breath and nodded again, turning to place his bare feet on the ground.

Chopper helped him up so that he could step on the portable scale that he'd brought along with him, and then measured his height with a tape measure. He'd have liked to have something more accurate, but it would have to do. He learned that Zoro was a little underweight, which didn't surprise him. 

Then it came time to actually examine his body. 

"Zoro, I have to examine you. Is it alright if I ask you to remove your clothes? You can keep a pair of boxers on if you want."

He could practically feel the way Zoro stiffened, but he watched the man nod and pull off the plain tee shirt he was wearing. He then began to struggle with his pants, and Chopper didn't miss the way his fingers trembled as he tried to work them off while sitting down. He was obviously stressed. Chopper frowned. 

"I… I can start with your upper body. You can leave those on for now."

For just a moment, Zoro made eye contact with him. His eyes were relieved but still anxious, and they were searching. For what? Before Chopper could gauge anything from the look, he'd averted his eyes. He seemed to breathe a little easier, though. Chopper scooted his chair closer so he could stand on it. He started to remove the bandages he'd already applied when they'd been on top of Drum. 

Underneath the bandages were the scars and the wounds. Even having already seen them, Chopper felt shocked at the sheer amount of injuries. He couldn't fathom how one body could have so many and still be alive, and yet here Zoro was. 

Zoro was sitting as still as a statue, eyes fixed somewhere on the wall across the room as Chopper finished removing the bandages and discarded them. 

The most recent injuries on his chest were the bruises from being caught in the avalanche and the burns, the same ones the others had from that devil fruit user. Still, past those there were older bruises, mostly healed ones just about everywhere, especially around his neck, as if he'd been choked. On his wrists were several mostly-healed scabs, the kind that came from being rubbed raw, as if he'd been bound. 

Up his arms there were more small bruises, all nearly completely gone. 

His back was the worst of any part of him Chopper could see. Of course, there were the burns and the bruises from the devil fruit user before. But under those there were longer scars criss-crossing the entire expanse of his back, and yet more older, healing bruises and scrapes. The worst scar of all, though, was a burn scar on the back of his right shoulder. 

It was from a serious burn. Serious enough that though it looked years and years old, it still stood out in stark contrast from Zoro's tan skin. It was a deep, violent shade of red, and when he touched it the skin was thick and rough. It had a defined shape, as if it'd been burned onto him purposefully. A circle with three triangles above it and one below. 

Chopper wanted to ask about it, but he wasn't even sure how. So, he directed his attention at the long scars first. "Where did these long ones come from?" He asked softly, hoping Zoro knew which ones he meant. 

"Whip," Zoro answered, his voice quiet. 

Chopper sucked in a breath. He'd… he'd assumed the injuries came from fighting. He glanced at the healing skin around Zoro's wrists.  _ Choked. Bound. Whipped.  _ He forced himself to breathe out and remain calm. Someone… Someone had tied Zoro down and, for lack of a better word,  _ tortured him.  _ The whip marks were of varying ages, some from years ago and some from only months, maybe less. 

Chopper's mouth felt dry, but he swallowed the feeling back, pushed back the stinging in his eyes. He gently pressed his hoof to the burn scar. "And this?" 

Zoro gave no response. Chopper didn't push him.

He moved on, noting the old bruises on Zoro's hips as he gently rebandaged all of the new burns and had Zoro put his shirt back on. 

_ Choked. Bound. Whipped. Grabbed by the hips. _

A  _ very  _ fucked up picture was painting itself in Chopper's head. He hadn't considered… 

He set his jaw. He had to finish here. 

"Do you want to bring one of your crewmates in for the next part?" He asked quietly. If what he was thinking was true… It would do no good to make Zoro expose himself in front of a near stranger.

Zoro shook his head and began to pull his sweatpants off. His hands were shaking again. 

Chopper had seen the old bruising on his inner thighs before, but hadn't known what to make of it. Now, though, he had new context for it. The newest bruises looked about a month old. there were older ones too, yellow in the latest stages of healing.

_ A month _ …

Chopper bit back the worry that made him feel. He took the bandages off his ankles. Other than the bruising and the now stitched-up cuts, his legs looked alright. Chopper didn't know if he had the stomach to ask about the bruising, so instead he directed his attention to the stitches. "I meant to ask… what happened to your ankles?"

"...Tried to cut 'em off." Came the soft response. 

"Who did?"

"Me," Zoro said, and he didn't sound nearly as nervous about it as he had when answering for his other injuries. 

Chopper blinked. "Why?"

"Had to." Was all he got in response. 

Lastly, for a very short while, Chopper asked that Zoro remove his boxers. Zoro became quite stiff at this, but he removed them almost robotically. 

This part of the examination was not specific to Zoro. Chopper had asked it of all the others as well, and of course he had no intentions other than to be sure they were healthy. It wouldn't take long. Still, he felt incredibly guilty at the way Zoro's smile widened, quite obviously very forced. 

He did his best to be as fast as he could. And he was, despite the obvious signs of abuse down there. Dread was curling in his gut at the thought of what had been done to this man. He'd said that inside him hurt. Chopper understood more than he'd have liked to, now. There was more bruising further up Zoro's legs and on his behind, and though Chopper didn't think Zoro's nerves would take his investigating further very well, he was sure that wasn't where the abuse stopped. 

Abuse. Because that's what it had been, hadn't it? Abuse, and… and  _ rape. _

As much as he wanted to look further so that he could try and heal Zoro, Chopper stepped away. He'd intruded enough.

"You can put your clothes back on," he said. "You did well, I'm sorry that was so uncomfortable…" he didn't feel like sorry was enough, especially when he saw the way Zoro scrambled to put his clothes back on. 

Before he left, though, a dreadful idea entered his head and he stopped. "The… the men you were with. None of them were anyone on this ship, were they?"

Zoro's head immediately shot up from where he'd been staring at his lap again and his eyes found Chopper's. "No." 

That was the most firm answer he'd gotten. He took a moment to tear his eyes away. "Good," he said softly. "I'm glad."

He left Zoro alone, though not for long. 

As soon as he exited, Luffy was slamming right into him and looking right into his eyes. "You're done, right? I can go see Zoro??" 

Chopper nodded. "You should. I… I stressed him out."

In a moment, Luffy was tumbling his way down the stairs and Chopper was alone in the storage room.

He took a few steps away from the trapdoor leading downstairs, but before he could exit out onto the deck, he felt tightness in his throat and tears in his eyes. He quickly drove himself behind several of the boxes and pressed against the wall. He covered his mouth with his hooves just as fat tears filled his eyes. 

He cried for a while, and it was hard to get breaths in between his muffled sobs. He didn't need the others hearing him. He was supposed to be a professional.

Some time later, footsteps entered the storage room. Chopper sucked in a breath, but could do little to hide his little cries when he became unable to hold it any longer. 

The footsteps approached and Chopper knew he'd been caught when Sanji's head peeked around a box and the cook saw him. 

He must be such a mess. He wiped his eyes and sniffled. "Ah-! S-sanji…"

Sanji stared for a moment, but then his confused expression gave way to understanding. He crouched down and extended his hand. "Come with me." He said.

Chopper was in no state to disobey. He slipped his little hoof into Sanji's hand and allowed himself to be led into the galley, where Sanji placed him in a chair and then went to the kitchen counter, where he busied himself at the counter.

"Finished Zoro's check-up?" He asked. 

Chopper nodded. 

"How was that?"

Chopper felt his throat tighten up again. "What… what  _ happened  _ to him?" He knew. He already knew.  _ Choked, bound, whipped, raped _ . But… 

"We don't know the specifics. Only that… terrible people had him, and it wasn't good." 

"Who? Do you know who? How… how could anyone… you know, right? How he's been hurt?"

Sanji sat beside him at the table and set down a mug for each of them. "I know. We all know. Sometimes I doubt it with how Luffy acts. But… we know. We… we don't know who did it. If we did… well… Luffy says he doesn't care about our pasts, but… if I ever meet the bastards who did it there will be hell to pay." Sanji's voice dropped down to almost a growl at that last part, and Chopper couldn't help but feel intimidated.

"I… I don't understand how someone could be  _ treated  _ like that…" Chopper whispered after a moment of silence between them. 

"People are sick bastards… They think they can make anyone their plaything." Sanji muttered. 

Chopper's eyes went wide and he looked at Sanji. "Do things like this happen a lot? To other people?" 

Sanji nodded. 

"Why..? H-how?" Chopper felt the tears coming again. He hadn't been aware of this… this cruelty. 

"Because the fuckers at the top decided it's legal to treat another living fucking human like merchandise." Sanji spat. 

"L-legal?" What had been done to Zoro had been  _ legal _ ?

Sanji was looking at him now. "You don't  _ know _ ?" He said it like it was obvious. Like this type of treatment was a fact of life that everyone knew about.

Chopper shook his head. He didn't know.

"Fuck, you… you really don't know…? It… it's… slavery. We… we don't see it in the blues as much but everyone  _ knew  _ it happened. They… they buy and sell  _ people. _ "

"But! But that's!" That was  _ wrong _ , that was  _ so wrong _ . 

"It's disgusting. It's horrible."

Chopper didn't have much warning. He was suddenly crying again, tears blurring his vision even as he tried to blink them away. 

It was a short moment of just his soft crying before suddenly Sanji's arms were around him and pulling him into his lap. He cried into his chest. He'd had no idea the world was so cruel. 

Sanji's hands were shaking even as they held him. 

\- - -

Vivi felt guilty for overhearing what she did. Neither of her two shipmates had noticed her presence outside the galley door, and neither's words had been meant for her ears. Of course, she'd figured out Zoro's past - the mark of the Celestial Dragons was a dead give-away. Now, however, she knew that the crew did not know who had enslaved their swordsman. They didn't know the world enough to know of the horrible creatures ruling it all, or at least they didn't know the way they marked their victims. 

She wondered whether she should tell anyone what she knew. Tell them that Zoro had belonged to the World Nobles. She didn't know that it would accomplish anything, but she hated being the only one who knew. 

She leaned on the galley's wall, and then finally forced herself to push off of it and walk over to where Nami was relaxing on her deck chair. "Nami?" 

Nami kept her eyes closed. "Hm?"

"Can I… talk to you about something?"

This made the redhead sit up and open her eyes. "Of course you can." She turned on her chair and placed her legs on the wooden deck so Vivi could sit next to her. 

Vivi did, and then she found herself too nervous to speak. She didn't know why. It was just information. It may not even surprise her. 

"What is it?" Nami prompted. 

"I… I thought you might want to know… well… it's about Zoro." Nami remained silent, so Vivi made herself continue. "I… I know who it was that, well… that hurt Zoro. Or…  _ owned _ him, at least." She grimaced at the word owned. It was so  _ wrong _ . 

"What?" Nami asked, body turning to fully face Vivi. 

"That brand on his back… do you know what it is?" Vivi wasn't sure how to begin, but the brand seemed like a good start. 

"I've never seen it before." Came the answer. Vivi wasn't surprised. 

She turned to face Nami, trepidation making her hesitate a moment. "Have you heard of the Celestial Dragons?"

"The World Nobles?" Vivi could see the confusion on Nami's face. 

"Yes, them. They… their mark. That's their mark on Zoro's back."

Nami remained silent for a moment. She didn't seem too shocked or surprised as she looked out at the horizon to seemingly gather her thoughts. "Then… how did he end up in East Blue? That's where we found him… the nobles live in the Grand Line, don't they?" 

"A few days ago, Zoro told me they left him," Vivi explained.

Nami looked back at her. "Just like that?"

"That's how he made it sound… but… slaves don't just get to  _ leave. _ It… they're always hunted down." Vivi remembered pushing Igaram for answers regarding the slaves on Mariejois. She remembered him eventually describing to her how the ones that did escape were captured again, and how even the survivors of the largest breakout in history were hunted down so that only a few remained. 

"So, you're saying…" Nami didn't seem to need to hear that story to understand. 

"They may come after Zoro." Vivi affirmed. It was an idea that had been haunting her ever since she'd seen that mark. She didn't want her friend to be recaptured.

Nami was chewing her lip nervously. "But if he was abandoned, then isn't he in the clear?"

"He might be… but the Celestial Dragons are unreasonable. They get what they want… and even if it's a whim… if one of them misses him for some reason… the government will do its best to get him back." She remembered the noble she'd seen in her short time in the holy land, remembered how he'd demanded to be brought a woman whose picture he'd seen in a newspaper from down on the blue sea. She remembered hearing the news of the princess of a small kingdom disappearing without a trace not long after she and her father returned to Alabasta. She was the very same woman. 

Nami took a while to respond to that, looking quite distressed and for good reason. "So… we could be attacked at any time?" She asked softly. 

Vivi nodded, and she watched Nami' hands tremble as they rubbed her face. "The World Government… that's no joke."

They sat in silence. Vivi watched Nami's face cycle through fear and anger several times. She gently took her hand and the hold was returned.

Slowly, Nami arrived at determination and seemed to relax. "...We'll just have to be ready in case that happens, then. Thanks for the warning."

Vivi nodded in response. From what she'd seen of this crew, she knew that if anyone could fight off the World Government, it would be them. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope that was satisfactory :)  
> Again, chapter 1 has been updated!   
> Also, please comment! Comments mean a lot, no matter what you say!!!


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi again! Again, thanks to Bookcreature for beta reading!   
> This chapter's shorter, but I hope y'all like it! :)

Zoro did not like Chopper. 

He could tell. Anytime Chopper approached him, the smile on his face became tenser, the hands fidgeted more nervously. 

He'd agreed to let Zoro leave the confines of the girls' room so long as someone carried him. He didn't need any weight on those stitched up ankles. 

Chopper did most of the carrying, and Zoro  _ really _ did not seem to like it. Throughout the day Chopper hovered nearby, trying to ignore the rare instances where Zoro looked up and saw him, eyes actually giving something away unlike before: discomfort. It was obvious. Zoro did not like him, did not like being carried around. 

But Chopper had no other choice, really, if he wanted to heal the swordsman. The looks were wearing on him, though. Reminding him of the way his herd had looked back at him when they'd pushed him out. He knew it wasn't that Zoro was a hateful person. How could he be, when Chopper often looked up to see him side by side with Luffy, close enough that they were touching, or smiling and avidly listening to Sanji talk in the galley? 

It would take time. Someone with the trauma that Zoro had experienced could not be expected to immediately trust someone new,  _ especially _ when everything this new person did caused discomfort. 

They hadn't spoken other than for Chopper to briefly check on his injuries the day after the check-up, and Zoro seemed intent on keeping it that way. Either that, or… well, Chopper supposed he didn't talk much to the others either, but from his interactions with them it was clear he wanted to engage with them. 

Perhaps he'd engage Chopper if he'd just man up and start a conversation, but the idea of talking so one-sidedly as all the others did with Zoro made him uneasy. He wasn't one for understanding others on a social level. He didn't want to hold Zoro captive, but when the only times they'd spoken Zoro had been obviously uncomfortable, how could any interaction feel like anything else?

The others on the crew were quite happy to have him there. Despite his being the youngest he found that Luffy and Usopp were quite childish and fun to hang around, and as soon as he'd had free time they pulled him into a game, and then another, then another until they became too riled up and Nami's fist slammed into their heads with an order to shut up. 

He noticed that whenever he was getting along with one of the crew members, Zoro's eyes were on him. There was that dislike, but there was also… fear? Was it fear? 

It got to the point where Chopper sought Nami out and asked for her opinion. 

"How… how can I befriend Zoro?" He'd asked softly. 

Nami had smiled at him. "It'll happen, Chopper. Just do your best and give him his time. You've got it the hardest - none of us had to heal him like you are, not before he trusted us, at least."

That didn't give Chopper any useful information. He'd already surmised that much. He thanked her anyways, though, and went on his way. He didn't want to just wait, but approaching Zoro about anything other than his health seemed so daunting.

The swordsman's thoughts were a mystery and Chopper always found himself staring. And then Zoro would notice him staring and would look guarded, even sad.

Chopper was on watch the evening of the second day after the check-up. He was glad for the quiet - it gave him time to think and relax. All of the social interaction he was getting on this ship after so long with so little was… it was good, but it was tiring. 

He'd been outside for a few hours when his ears perked as he heard a noise from the deck. It sounded like footsteps. 

He quietly crawled to the edge of the crow's nest and peered down over its side. 

Zoro was on the deck, on his feet. Chopper pushed away the thought that he was stressing his injuries too much. This wasn't the time.

Zoro made his way to the back of the ship, to where Chopper's view of him was obscured by the galley and by Nami's mikan plants. Silently, Chopper climbed down the mast and tiptoed around the galley. He peeked around the corner, being sure to properly hide. 

Zoro was sitting against the back wall of the galley, staring out at the dark sea. He was frowning. 

That was an expression Chopper had not seen on him before.

And then, suddenly, Zoro's eyes were on him and he was smiling. Chopper jumped badly. Creepy. That was creepy. 

He took a moment to calm himself, and then slowly, ever so slowly, he joined Zoro in sitting against the galley's wall. 

Zoro said nothing. 

"...I'm sorry. I don't want to intrude…"

He was met with silence. Anxiety filled him. He should have stayed in the crow's nest. 

"You… don't have to smile…"

Zoro paid that statement no mind. The smile remained.

Chopper sat silently until his nerves pushed him to speak. "This crew's great… I never had… I mean, there were Hiriluk and Doctorine, but. I never had  _ friends. _ And this crew is so nice and accepts me even though I'm a monster… I'm happy, I think. For the first time."

Why the hell was he telling Zoro this? Was Zoro even listening?

His eyes were fixed on the horizon, but were focused. He was listening. Now that Chopper had started, he didn't want to stop. "They're… they're all I ever wanted.  _ Real  _ friends… you know? And so I want then all to be happy, and I want  _ you _ to be happy,  _ truly _ happy, n' I'm sorry I keep making that hard."

Zoro didn't say anything. The overwhelming urge to  _ retreat  _ came over Chopper. He shouldn't have done this. But a glance at Zoro revealed a much less strained expression and much less guarded eyes staring out at the sea. 

He stayed put. 

Zoro didn't say anything. Neither of them did, really. 

"I think my shift's over," Chopper said softly after a long, long time of silence that was almost… companionable? 

Zoro stood up and Chopper did the same. For a moment they made eye contact when Zoro glanced at him. 

Zoro looked conflicted. Conflicted between that discomfort from before and… understanding?

Then, he turned and disappeared around the corner. 

When Chopper entered the girls' room to wake the next crew member for their turn, Zoro was on the bed again as if he'd never left. 

Chopper went to bed as well.

The next day, the third day after the check-up, he noticed that Zoro's eyes weren't on him as much, or at least weren't boring into him like they had been. He was able to relax a little more. 

Chopper picked up Zoro to carry him to the galley for dinner that evening. "You know… tomorrow, I think you can start walking a little. But nothing strenuous, okay?"

Zoro's eyes widened slightly and then squinted a little. His mouth had already been curved up in a smile, but now his eyes were showing it somewhat properly. 

Chopper smiled back, feeling warm at the sight. 

\- - -

Zoro hadn't liked Doctor at all. The treating him as if he was weak, the asking him about things that  _ weren't supposed to bother him _ , the moving freely and interacting with the crew while Zoro was confined to one spot. 

The past two days he'd felt absolutely useless. He couldn't even  _ stand  _ just to help Cook do dishes. It was the  _ easiest  _ job on the ship, and he couldn't do it. He couldn't do any jobs. He did his best to sit and interact with his crewmates when Doctor set him down next to them, but his hands itched for something  _ useful _ to do, and there was nothing. He did not  _ want  _ to just relax like Doctor was telling him. 

But now, he wasn't so sure he disliked him. He'd snuck onto the deck in the middle of the night because he  _ needed _ to move around or else he felt he'd scream, or cry, or  _ something _ . It had helped, sitting and watching the sea. 

Then Doctor had shown up, caught him frowning at the dark expanse of water around them. As soon as Zoro sensed him he smiled at him, but he was there, blatantly ignoring Doctor's orders not to move. Zoro had been ready to be scolded, to hear  _ go back to being useless _ , but Doctor had only settled next to him and sat quietly. Sat next to him while  _ apologizing  _ for intruding. 

Zoro felt conflicted. And he only felt more conflicted when Doctor sat in silence until he seemingly couldn't anymore and suddenly he was talking, much like the rest of the crew seemed to when they shared space with him. 

Doctor told him about how the crew accepted him and about how they made him feel happy, and Zoro knew how that felt exactly. Doctor told him he'd never had anyone like the crew before, and Zoro understood. Doctor said that he was happy here and that he wanted  _ Zoro  _ to be happy. 

He'd said that before, but now it seemed to mean more. 

Zoro remembered that Doctor had been the one to save Nami, and that he held dear the same things as Luffy did. That was why they'd been fighting and why he'd exited the castle to hear Luffy insisting that Doctor join them. 

Doctor had been lonely before joining their crew, just like they had all been, and Doctor felt like he had a proper place with them. Like they all did. Like Zoro himself did. 

They sat in silence until Doctor's shift was over, and Zoro was the first to stand and leave for bed. He didn't miss the fact that Doctor didn't chastise him about standing on his own. 

The next morning was much the same, but Zoro found that he didn't mind being carried as much. He didn't  _ like _ it, but he didn't find the same disgust in it as before, if only because he knew that Doctor was like the rest of them. Doctor was just doing his best. 

Still, the news later that day that he'd be able to walk some on his own tomorrow brought a real smile to his face. 

\- - -

The next day came and, true to his word, Doctor allowed Zoro to walk by himself, encouraging him to lean on walls and railings to keep the strain of balancing off his legs. 

Zoro did his best to obey that, but ended up wandering around the ship unassisted. Doctor was still staring at him, but wasn't stopping him. 

Still, he wasn't allowed to work. Doctor said continued standing counted as strenuous. But walking himself around after days of not was gratifying. So gratifying. 

Surprisingly, he found himself in Doctor's company willingly. He visited all the others, mostly having a seat and dozing nearby them until either they wanted to talk or it was time to move on. 

He found that Doctor was almost as easy to just  _ be  _ around as everyone else in the crew. So, as the little creature sat in the galley poring over medicinal textbooks, Zoro took the seat next to him and laid his head on his arms to watch. 

When Chopper was crushing up the components for his weapons, which Zoro found from his absent ramblings as he did so were called rumble balls, Zoro sat nearby, surprisingly content to just listen. 

Two days passed in this manner, and then the third afternoon Zoro stared as Doctor settled himself right next to him with one of his textbooks to read. Close enough that they were touching. Zoro blinked in surprise but did not fight the closeness because he found he didn't mind. 

And then Doctor fell asleep against Zoro's side, and he found he didn't mind that either, so he crossed his arms behind his head and closed his eyes as well.

\- - -

The agent had been in Nanohana for several days. He'd kept an eye on the port, watching for the Straw Hat's ship on the horizon - even if they took a detour, they'd have to land here eventually. This was the only port city within dozens of miles along the coast, and was the easiest to access. They'd be here if he waited, and wait he did, blending in with the locals and laying low. His mission would be over soon.

The ship landed early one afternoon. The agent watched closely, watched the captain rush off without his crew and saw his target on deck. Another figure, not the target, left the ship a few moments later and disappeared into town alone. The agent watched the ship and eventually the second figure came back with shopping bags, and then the crew all emerged, clothing changed into that of the locals, though the two women did not seem very well dressed to blend in, in dancers' clothing as they were. 

The agent himself had taken steps to disguise himself. A tan cloth was wrapped over his head to keep the sun off - he was actually quite grateful for it - it was hot in this country. Over the rest of him he wore a simple brown desert robe - the most unassuming one he could find. 

The crew disembarked, and the agent followed them at a distance. 

Or at least he did, until he was grabbed and pulled into an alley by the back of his shirt. He whirled to face his attacker but found no one, only playfully dissipating flower petals. 

"What are you doing here, Cipher Pol?" A smooth, female voice asked. The speaker was nowhere to be seen. 

He was caught. This woman knew his identity. How? He'd been careful. He'd killed any witnesses to his snooping.

He feigned confusion. "What? Who's there? What is this!?" He glanced around quickly, at the cracked, sandy ground and the shrivelled pants trying to squeeze up through it. At one end, the alley ended in a clay brick wall. It was narrow, narrow enough that if he stretched his arms out he could almost touch the other side. Outside, the foot traffic continued as normal. 

"There is no need to keep up a front. We may not even pose a threat to your mission, and don't want to involve ourselves negatively with World Government affairs." The voice continued. 

The agent chose his next words carefully, trying to contemplate his audience. "World Government - what do you  _ mean _ ! He made a move to run out of the alley but it was as if something grabbed his ankles and tripped him. When he turned to look, there were more petals blowing around on the ground.

He did not get up yet. "Who are you!?" He asked, but somehow he knew that his act wouldn't work. Whoever this was knew what they were doing. 

The voice laughed, a mirthless, guarded thing that was somehow playful. "That is of no consequence. You still have not answered my question."

The agent sighed. The act was useless - it was just wasting time. He dropped his fake trembling and stood, brushing sand off his clothing. "Are you from Baroque Works? I want nothing to do with your organization."

"That  _ is  _ heartening to hear. However, Mr. 0 would still like to have a grip on what is happening in his country."

The agent vaguely considered using  _ soru _ to escape, but this woman had found him without his knowing. She would likely only find him again, and as it was he had no idea who she might be. It was well-known that Crocodile intended to take Alabasta. But he'd never heard intelligence of any female counterpart, at least, not one at the caliber that this woman seemed to be.

Except, there had been. Miss All-Sunday. It had to be her, he surmised, but other than her name and proximity to the shichibukai, he knew nothing. 

"I am in search of a criminal, and when I have him I will leave. Is that enough for your boss?" He dropped the attempt at trying to gauge her identity for now. This conversation would take all of his energy.

"Mh, and is this  _ criminal _ one of those pirates you've been trailing?" 

Ah, she knew about that. He hid his surprise by directing his gaze downwards as if in thought, but apparently didn't do a good enough job of it.

"To the untrained eye, you are unsuspicious, but from a professional standpoint… you have much room for improvement." She sounded  _ smug _ , and the agent frowned openly. Acting wasn't getting places with her. 

"And what if he is one of those pirates?" He leaned on the wall, taking a more relaxed pose and looking at his nails - less for the purpose of tricking her and more for his own appeasement. 

"Then we have a common enemy." The voice paused. "Tell me. You don't seem to be the sort to look for trouble. Would you be interested in an… alliance, of sorts? My boss is in the late stages of his plan, but he could use assistance, and in return we could make the capture of your criminal much simpler. As it is, that crew is in our way. We already intend to crush them - they are troublesome, I am sure you've heard. Wouldn't it be best to avoid… pursuers?"

The agent thought on that a moment. She was right - Monkey D. Luffy was trouble, trouble that he didn't want to dirty his hands with. If he could be crushed in this country, then that would be best for his purposes. "It would. I don't suppose I could have a talk with your boss?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 😳😳😳
> 
> As usual, comments are encouraged!!  
> Thank y'all for your comments thus far also, bc they really help keep me going :)


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, thanks to BookCreature for beta reading!!! They've really been making me speed things up and helping me keep motivating!! So they can be thanked for these quicker updates!
> 
> Welcome back! I hope y'all enjoy the chapter!

As they headed through Nanohana in search of their runaway captain, Usopp felt just a little bit worried. He felt a tingling on the back of his neck, as if - as if someone was watching them. He turned several times, when his nakama weren't looking, but each time he did there was nothing to see. 

The feeling lessened later, when they ducked behind the two remaining walls of an old house, but he still felt unsettled. As if something wasn't quite right. He didn't mention it, only kept his senses as alert as he could to search for the source. Chopper seemed on edge as well - Usopp would have to ask him about it later, when the poor guy wasn't dying from both the heat and the smell of the girls' perfume - it was bothering Usopp himself and he didn't even have Chopper's heightened sense of smell.

He fiddled with the bandage on his forearm as he watched Sanji, Vivi and Nami try and figure out where to go from here. Maybe his unease was something to do with that? They'd learned a man on the enemy side could replicate their appearances. It had been a shame - Usopp had liked the guy, he was funny and had been easy to be around the short time they'd known him. But now, knowing he could pretend to be any one of them at any moment…

That was probably the source of his unease. The presence of the wrapping on his forearm was helping, he was pretty sure. The knowledge that he had a mark to prove he was real and that his nakama had it as well did something to calm him, but the nagging fear wouldn't go away. 

It had actually been Zoro who had suggested the marks. He'd looked very uncomfortable with the idea that someone could potentially impersonate one of the crew, and in that soft voice of his, smiling a wavering and forced smile, he'd murmured a quiet suggestion. "We need a mark… if they can look like us, then… we need to be able to prove who we are."

He'd said it without encouragement to do so. It was one of the longer statements he'd made, too. The fact that he'd felt comfortable enough to share the idea had been such a welcome development for all of them.

A bandage with an X underneath. A sign of their friendship. It had been a great idea, and they'd all praised Zoro for it, made sure he knew his input was wanted. He'd glowed under the compliments. Usopp smiled at the thought of that and a bit of the remaining worry slipped away. 

Zoro was sitting next to Chopper. They weren't leaning on each other - Chopper was too overheated for that - but they were close to each other and both looked quite content with it. Usopp had been thrilled when he'd begun to see the two hanging out around each other. Zoro had been very apprehensive before, but that seemed to have passed and Usopp had had to hide his grin every time he found the two curled up together or just sitting near each other in comfortable silence on the ship.

Usopp jumped, pulled from his thoughts, when Sanji quite angrily yelled something and then there were shouts everywhere and footsteps approaching. The loudest of the approaching voices was Luffy's. Usopp stood up to look and saw his captain running towards them. Followed by a large group of marines. 

They all ran. A marine came towards the front of the group, hot on Luffy's heels. Luffy didn't fight - strange. He normally would. 

Usopp looked back again as they left the town to see someone standing where before there hadn't been anyone. Next to him, Luffy was also looking back. He heard a delighted gasp. 

"Ace!!" Luffy was grinning, now, looking surprised.

"Go on ahead, Luffy! I'll meet you!" The stranger yelled, and Luffy answered in the affirmative. 

Zoro was on the other side of Luffy. Usopp saw him looking back, smile gone in favor of confusion. 

"Who  _ is  _ that!?" Usopp asked. 

Luffy just laughed, delighted. 

Heat exploded behind them and Usopp saw fire when he looked back. He decided just to keep running. 

Later, when the crew learned of the stranger's relation to Luffy, Usopp was amazed. Portgas D. Ace, second division commander of the Whitebeard Pirates. Luffy's  _ brother.  _ He seemed  _ so  _ much more polite. He didn't stick around, though. Only thanked them for their caring for Luffy, asked that they continue to do so, and then  _ backflipped off the ship _ and sped away on the coolest watercraft Usopp had  _ ever  _ seen. And then he destroyed several of the Billions' ships in a fiery inferno.

They all stood in dumb awe. Luffy looked pretty happy to have seen him, and so did the others. Usopp saw Zoro smile,  _ really  _ smile, a mixture of that happiness and the amazement that the rest of them felt.

"Take care of my little bro for me," Ace had said. 

Usopp laughed at the idea, later. Of course they would. That was what a crew did. 

\- - -

Vivi couldn't help but feel nervous. All of their traveling over the hot sand towards Yuba, towards the rebel army so that she could  _ stop  _ this war, only to find a wasteland and one poor old man. Toto. She had hardly recognized him, and had felt a pang in her heart when he'd said that there was no water here. 

Worse, though, was the next news. The news that the rebel army had left to head for Katorea. Katorea, which was east of Nanohana. They were further from it now than they had been when they'd first landed in Alabasta. 

But the crew had assured her they'd take her to Katorea. Even if it was backtracking. They'd help her stop the war. 

For the night, though, they'd been given a room at an inn in the deserted oasis. They were all tired, and it was time to sleep. Luffy, bless his soul, was out helping Toto dig for water - the man hadn't given up on his dream of building a city here.

Now, Sanji and Usopp were arguing, something about how in the desert, Usopp hadn't been walking as much as the rest of them and shouldn't be acting as tired as he was. It was a silly fight, and they both seemed to know it because Usopp threw a pillow, and it hit Sanji, who glared venomously at him and threw it right back. 

Somehow Chopper got involved. The tiny creature was soon sprinting full-speed at Usopp to whip a too-large pillow into his legs. A stray pillow hit Nami, who snapped at the boys and threw it back. 

Another stray pillow hit Zoro. He didn't make a sound and the others didn't notice, but Vivi worried for a moment about how he'd react.

Zoro stared at the pillow, which had landed in his lap, and then picked it up. Slowly, he stood. He padded to Usopp, who had thrown it in the first place, raised the pillow up, and whacked it onto the sniper's head with a loud  _ whump _ . 

"Oi!  _ Zo-rooo! _ I thought you were  _ on my side!! _ ' Usopp yelled. 

Zoro hit him again, and then Usopp was laughing, until a hit from Sanji's pillow got him square in the face. 

He lunged and tackled Sanji to the ground, where they both punched at each other and struggled to overpower one another. 

And then Chopper and Zoro were involved and Vivi  _ would  _ be worried if she hadn't seen this exact behavior in them before, and, even further back, in Kohza and his little gang. 

Zoro's joining was a welcome surprise. She supposed he'd been a little too injured to join in before, but now, he looked right at home when he struggled out of a hold Sanji had caught him in and slammed and awkward hand into Usopp's cheek.

A wayward pillow somehow hit Vivi in the face. She smiled. 

When Toto carried a sleeping Luffy in later that night, she smiled at him. He thanked her again for her and the crew's efforts.

\- - -

Skin against skin resounded over the quiet desert and Zoro was tense - Vivi was crying. Vivi was upset and hurting and he didn't want that. But she was slapping Luffy, punching Luffy, anything to try and hurt him. 

It didn't seem to be doing much, but she was attacking his captain. He didn't like that. They'd agreed to go see her rebels, but apparently now Luffy had changed his mind. 

"I NEED TO STOP THOSE REBELS!" Vivi was screaming. "I NEED TO PREVENT MORE DEATH!" She slapped his face again, glaring down at him. 

Zoro wanted to pull her off.

Then, in a flash, Luffy was the one on top and another thud of flesh on flesh made Zoro jump - that punch looked and sounded like it hurt, and Vivi took it silently. She seemed shocked, staring up at Luffy with an expression of dumbfounded, sorrowful anger.

"AS IF PUTTING YOUR  _ ONE  _ LIFE ON THE LINE WILL HELP!" Luffy yelled, and Zoro understood. 

Next to Zoro, Cook lurched forward."Luffy, you ca-"

Zoro stopped him with an arm. Vivi had ceased struggling. Luffy had gotten his point across. He wasn't going to hit her again. 

"What else  _ can  _ I put on the line?" She whimpered softly, tears trickling down her cheeks. 

"Try  _ our lives _ as well." Luffy murmured. And Zoro found nothing but agreement for that statement inside himself. Cook relaxed. 

Luffy got off of her and she sat up and started to cry harder. 

They soon departed for a city called Rainbase. Where Crocodile was. Crocodile, who was the reason for Vivi's tears. If Zoro got the chance, he was going to destroy that man.

\- - -

Crocodile smiled as he took in the enraged expressions on the Straw Hat's faces. They'd been so easy to catch - a simple trap had them in a sea stone cage under his casino, helpless and trapped so that he could continue with his plan in peace.

Nefertari Vivi, across the table from him, was just as upset as her new pirate friends, and even the marine in the cage looked angered. 

"HOW CAN YOU BE SO CRUEL!?" the princess was yelling - he'd revealed his plot to them, and their reactions were music to his ears.

He laughed. "It's really so tragic, isn't it? Love for this country is going to destroy it!" He grinned as he saw the pirate captain in the cage ball his hands into fists. "Kuhahahaha… you must understand the hassle I went through to set all this up… scrounging up money, obtaining followers, teaching them how to deceive others… slowly eroding the peoples' trust in their king!" 

The princess knocked herself out of the chair she was tied to with a clatter. "WE CAN STILL STOP THIS! WE JUST NEED TO HEAD EAST!" She yelled to her friends.

"Mmh, isn't that odd? We were headed there as well, Miss Wednesday. You know, you can come with us if you'd like." He pulled the fake key from his pocket and waved it in front of her, and then let it drop through his fingers and fall through the vent, into the lair of his crocodiles. "You have about eight hours to stop the rebels in Alubarna," he told Vivi, "and it will take longer than that to get there. You can either try to save your friends or your thousands of people. Sad that I dropped the key through this grate, isn't it?" As he said it, he delighted in the horror that filled her face. 

As she and her pirate friends panicked over that and over his crocodiles, he turned to Nico Robin, who had been quiet off to the side throughout this time. "Ah, I had almost forgotten. Give our… associate a call. Tell him to meet us in the casino, and get the target from the cage so we can bring him. I'm sure you can find a way."

The woman nodded, smiling that secretive smile of hers. Crocodile truly could not wait until his plot was over - until he had no use for her anymore. She was too smart for him to manipulate. She was dangerous. 

Nico Robin took a baby den den mushi from her pocket and turned away from him to call the agent. 

He let his vision drift to the cage, whose inhabitants, especially Straw Hat, were yelling at him. He ignored them in favor of looking at the green-haired one. The swordsman. The target. He had to wonder what it was that the government wanted with him. He was powerful, perhaps, but he had no bounty. He had never made a name for himself, and Crocodile would know if he did something undercover. He had eyes everywhere and contacts in the underground. 

He'd never heard of this man. Why was he worth a CP agent?

Soon, he was talking to them again, distracting them as he discreetly watched a chain of arms snake down through the trapdoor the pirates had fallen through to enter the cage. 

More arms grabbed the target, and then, in an impressive show of strength he was pulled up through the trapdoor. The whole process took only a few seconds, and then the trapdoor shut rather loudly, but at that point there was no need for stealth. 

The pirates jumped. They noticed their missing crewmate, and turned on Crocodile. The alarm on their faces was gratifying, as were the shouts of "GIVE ZORO BACK, YOU BASTARD!!"

The captain looked even more enraged than he had been at Crocodile's plan, and that was saying something. He threw himself against the bars again, only to melt to the floor when the sea stone sapped his strength. 

"What do you want with Zoro!?" Miss Wednesday demanded.

He only laughed, and then his den-den mushi was ringing. 

\- - -

Nico Robin had removed the target's swords from him. The man put up quite the struggle, shouting names and throwing strong punches and kicks at her, and even when she slipped handcuffs onto him and used many hands and a lot more force than she normally would, he did not easily comply. He didn't seem very clever, only trying to use brute strength to escape rather than properly analyzing the situation. It took a long time to use enough hands to immobilize him, and even longer to pull him down the hall to catch up with her boss. 

"Let me  _ go. _ " He murmured several times, but it was obvious he didn't actually expect her to. It was as if he was  _ used  _ to being restrained.

He was smiling as she escorted him along, to her surprise. Even through his pulling and struggling. A very obviously fake smile that gave way to concentration at some moments but always came back full-force. And he was quiet. After it was clear his friends couldn't come after him, his yelling for them stopped and there were only his quiet, intermittent demands to be freed. He was much more quiet than a pirate should be in this situation - especially one of his strength, if the bloodbath on Whiskey Peak was anything to go by - but the silence and the smile never fully left.

Crocodile had gotten a call from one of Straw Hat's crew members. A Mr. Prince, who had easily been defeated by Baroque Works forces if the end of the call was anything to go by. 

The owner of a casino and his partner wouldn't look suspicious checking out the racket in front of their establishment. Escorting out a man who'd made an assassination attempt on Crocodile was an easy story to hide behind as well.

On the way they'd meant to meet the agent. On the way, Robin saw a stranger notice them. Saw his eyes go wide and saw him disappear behind one of the slot machines. Discreetly, her powers formed an eye on the back of one machine and confirmed his location, confirmed that he was watching her.

Not the agent, but someone else who knew this man. By the concern on his face (real concern - Robin had learned to differentiate), someone who cared about him. She split off from Crocodile's path and approached the man. Crocodile wouldn't suspect it. The plan had been to make the exchange in here. 

She stopped in front of him, in a less crowded area. The target pulled again and she heard him speak, his voice now even quieter and more worried. "Cook!"

Upon closer inspection, she recognized him for sure from her short visit to the Straw Hats' ship. This was Mr. Prince, she was certain.

For a long time they simply stared at each other. The other man didn't move to attack her, to her surprise. He only kept his gaze guarded. Robin could recognize the look of someone who wanted to act. Wanted to run. 

He didn't seem to know what to say.

Robin herself was wanted enough to have had a CP agent after her before. That life was lonely. In most of her time she hadn't found many like herself. But the man she had restrained was similar to her. And he had found friends on the sea. Had found friends on the sea just like Saul told her that she would, one day. She'd seen the lengths these people went to for each other. Their captain taking on a shichibukai for a princess he'd just met was a prime example.

His behavior told her that even despite his finding friends he had a long way to go. She could tell from his silence, from his forced smiling, from the way he'd called out to his friend almost desperately and yet still quietly, that he still wasn't fully free. But she could also tell, from his attempts to get away, from his obvious strength if the massacre at Whiskey Peak meant anything, that he'd had a taste of freedom. That he wasn't done fighting. That he, unlike her, had a chance at living, truly living in a world that hated him. 

Could she take that away from him?

Could she give a man like this the fate she'd spent so long running from?

She'd hurt innocents before, but never if there was another way. 

She had a way to get clear of Crocodile should she need. Her time here was coming to an end soon, anyways. After today, she'd have the knowledge she'd sought for so long. She could tuck another small betrayal into her list. The world government wouldn't be able to react fast enough to catch her. 

She gently pushed the target towards Mr. Prince. 

Then, she turned and walked away. 

She managed to intercept the agent soon after. And no one noticed her, leading him to a balcony of the casino and pushing him off into the crocodile-infested waters. 

Later, as she let a hat fall onto the boy she just pulled from the sand, she would wonder what it was about this crew that had her committing such acts of kindness for them. 

\- - - 

Blood was pouring from Zoro's arms and chest. He panted heavily, sitting with his back against the support of a bridge-like structure above him.

He'd been fighting his hardest. He'd been using all three of his swords, and though his swordplay was still somewhat clumsy he knew he was doing alright at holding his own. 

_ "A seasoned swordsman can cut through steel, or cut nothing at all." _ Koushiro had said. He'd demonstrated, long ago when Zoro had still been with him - sliced at a thin paper with a sharp sword and left it completely unharmed. 

His enemy was steel. Zoro needed to cut through steel, and he needed to do it soon. His swords hadn't even made a dent in the man's blades, which appeared all over him in ways Zoro could not predict. He coughed up blood and it joined the rest on his ruined shirt, which hung in rags over his shoulders, dripping with blood. 

He closed his eyes. The bridge above him was about to break. 

He could hear it, creaking and crumbling and ready to give in. And then, to his surprise, he could feel it. He felt the fissures spreading through the rock. He felt how it would break, and how its pieces would fall around him. He could feel the ground beneath him and the buildings around, all still and all somehow breathing. His heartbeat was loud in his ears. Was he dying?

The rumbling as the rubble fell was deafening, but he could still feel it. He could feel the path each piece took as it fell. All of them stayed clear of him, and when he opened his eyes, he was still safe and still alive. He took a shuddering breath and cursed his weakness as he forced himself to stand. When the dust cleared he saw his enemy, who was staring in surprise. 

"You dodged the rubble." the steel man noted. 

Zoro hadn't dodged the rubble. It just hadn't hit him. He let the steel man know. "I didn't."

He sheathed Shusui and Yubashiri and gripped Wado's hilt. 

He could still feel the rocks. One was beside him. His sword was humming with energy as well, as alive as he and the rocks were. An extension of his arm. 

He felt the rock's faults. He shot his arm out and slashed, and when he looked, it was cut in two. 

The power to cut anything and nothing. He didn't care about the nothing part right now.

He turned his eyes to his enemy. To save Vivi's country this man needed to go down. To meet up with Luffy again, this man needed to go down. 

Zoro staggered closer to the steel man, who readied himself with blades on his forearms. He could feel the steel's breath. 

He was dizzy, but now wasn't the time. He ignored the feeling and leaned forward just a bit to start himself running, Wado in hand. He couldn't see from his dizziness but that didn't matter. He could still hear the steel. He dodged past the man at the last moment, deflecting a hit from the sharpened arms. In one graceful movement leading from that, he slashed at the steel man's stomach. He stopped several yards past him, panting and wobbling on his feet. 

There was a grunt, but he didn't hear his enemy fall. He stared down at the blood covering him. He'd have to try again. 

No sooner did he realize this than the spinning drill of steel blades from before was smashing into his side and he cried out and spat up blood. It sent him flying into another building. He was at his limit, but still, he stood. He drew all three of his swords. One wasn't going to be enough. He ran again, gritting his teeth hard around the hilt in his mouth. He closed his eyes and felt the breathing steel, felt it move to dodge but was there to counter it with a slash that strained his muscles. 

He felt it slice through flesh. 

Again, he passed his enemy after the attack, and there he fell to his knees and collapsed before he saw whether he'd won. 

For a long time everything was hazy, but then there were the voices of his nakama and much of the blood was wiped away and he was being patched up. 

He must've won. He wasn't dead. 

The battle was happening in the center of the city, Vivi told them all. 

Zoro stood up at that, ignored Chopper's cries that he should stay put. There was still work to be done, even when standing made him dizzy.

\- - -

He didn't really know how he'd ended up in the tower. There were stairs and so he'd climbed them, and they'd kept going up and up and up until he came to a balcony and below him on another balcony stood Cook, and below Cook were Nami, Vivi, Long-Nose, and Doctor.

Even from this distance Zoro could see the concern on Vivi's face - that bomb would be going off in only a minute. It would destroy the people fighting in the square - Vivi's people. Vivi's treasure. Through his nakama's shouting he gauged that the bomb was at the top of the tower, further up than him. Cook looked up at him. Their eyes met, and when Zoro saw him look to Nami and Doctor, he saw them all nod. Even Long-Nose, who was nearly fully wrapped with bandages and panting from the exertion he'd endured, nodded. 

There wasn't much more communication needed. 

Doctor transformed, and Zoro watched Vivi climb onto his back. He unsheathed Wado - he'd trust neither of his other swords with his nakama's lives - and widened his stance.

Nami swung the staff, the one she was so talented with already and that she'd used to defeat the Urchin, and a gust of wind propelled Doctor up as he jumped and shot upwards to Cook. 

Cook's leg lashed out, and Zoro was in awe of the power behind it when Doctor landed on it and its momentum continued, boosting him upwards towards Zoro. 

Cook fell towards Nami and Long-Nose then, and it was Zoro's turn. It was still hard to breathe. He was tired from climbing the stairs and the slashes all over his body had just barely stopped bleeding. They still hurt. Badly. But he wouldn't back down. He jumped off the balcony. In the weightlessness of the fall he forced his heart not to backflip. He swung the back of his blade and Doctor's hooves hit it. His slashes from the devil fruit user ached and stung but he strained and ignored them and boosted Doctor upwards. The reindeer transformed and used his now strong arms to throw her up to her destination.

Then, they were falling together. Zoro sheathed his sword and found Doctor under him, grown to several times his normal size because of the extra fur that was suddenly covering him.

Zoro landed on that, and it was a nice cushion, which he slid up off to stand.

His nakama were staring at the tower. 

He looked, too, in time to see a bird fly from the window, holding a large ball - the bomb? It had to be. The bird flew up and up and up and then the air itself shook and Zoro had a hard time staying on his feet. 

The explosion, while far away, was bright and loud and disoriented all of them, shook dust up from the ground and rumbled in the sky. 

The soldiers in the square kept fighting. Up on the tower, Vivi was screaming, and Zoro's heart gave a pang for her. 

The bomb was taken care of. But the people didn't care.

And then his nakama, including Usopp who was still so injured, ran into the fray. To try and stop it, likely. 

Zoro wanted to try and stop it, too. Zoro wanted to save Vivi's treasure. 

He took a step but then he was grabbed forcefully and shoved to the hard, dusty ground. His head cracked against it and he saw stars, stunned momentarily while someone cuffed his wrists and removed his swords from his side. 

"I'm not fucking losing you again." A voice hissed in his ear.

He struggled violently and managed to turn his head so he wasn't lying on his face. He saw Nami, closest to him, trying to shake sense into one of the soldiers. 

"NA-" he tried, but a firm impact came somewhere between his shoulder and neck and again he saw stars. The world rocked and then went black. 

\- - -

Nami tilted her head back and let the rain fall on her. 

Crocodile was defeated. Now all that remained was to find Luffy and leave this country - already it was swarming with marines. The shichibukai's body lay not far away, battered and now wet with the droplets that were finally falling from the sky. 

Slowly, they all grouped up, and then most of them were at the base of the clock tower again, panting and enjoying the rain. 

But then, Nami saw the swords. Zoro's swords. All three of them, discarded on the ground, getting wet in the rain and muddy from the sand and dust around them. 

The sand and dust that was displaced, even with the rain smoothing it over. The sand and dust that showed signs of a struggle. 

Her nakama were celebrating - no one had noticed yet. He was always so quiet anyways. 

Nami felt sickness rise in her stomach. Zoro wouldn't leave them. And if he did, he wouldn't leave his  _ swords _ . She'd seen how he cared for them. 

Her legs felt weak and her scalp tingled as dread filled her. 

"Where's Zoro?" Her question cut through her friend's conversation like a hot knife through butter and they all froze and turned towards her. Turned towards the swords on the ground. 

The silence was almost painful. 

The marines were closing in, Nami could hear their shouts. They wanted to claim their prize - the pirate Luffy had defeated. But the Straw Hats were also targets. They couldn't stay here. They were in no shape for another fight.

"We… we need to get out of here." She stammered. She slowly walked to the swords and picked them up. "Come… come on." She turned to the others. 

"But Zoro - where is he? We can't  _ leave _ !" Usopp's face was twisted in a worried, scared frown. 

"We're not gonna find him here, Usopp. You think he'd just leave those on the ground?" Sanji asked, voice a little shaken. 

Usopp's eyes widened and he looked between Nami and Sanji. Nami saw her same dread in them. 

Chopper approached the place on the ground where Nami had found the swords. He lowered his head to it and sniffed, searching for a sign. 

He sniffed for a few moments and then froze and lifted his head up. 

"The trail… ends. There's nothing here. I can't smell Zoro." His voice went higher and broke at the end. 

It was then that Vivi exited the clock tower. Her eyes were red and her hands were shaking, but she was smiling nonetheless. One look at Nami's face, though, and the smile fell. She saw the swords in her hands. 

"We need to  _ go. _ " Nami said firmly, though her voice trembled.

Sanji nodded. "Usopp. On Chopper's back. Vivi, can you run?"

Vivi nodded a little numbly. No one moved. 

Sanji stepped towards Usopp and shoved him to Chopper. Usopp stumbled and then struggled onto the doctor's back. 

Then the cook was taking the swords from her hands and fastening them at his side. And then his warm, calloused hand was in hers. He gave Chopper a shove and Chopper started to run.

Sanji pulled her along, away from the marines and from where Zoro had disappeared. She was glad for his pulling because without it she felt like she was rooted to the spot. 

Maybe he'd just gotten lost. 

Maybe. 

Vivi's warning about the world nobles came back to her, and she knew that he hadn't.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope y'all enjoyed!  
> ;^)


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What's this??? The update took less than a week? Thank BookCreature for making me work and keeping me inspired! They're the best!
> 
> Anyways, enjoy!

Zoro was gone without a trace. The crew were all fatigued - they all needed rest, and they needed it badly. But someone had stolen one of their nakama, and they didn't have a clue where the culprit had disappeared to. They didn't have a clue where Zoro was. 

They stayed that night in the palace - try as they might, none of them could wake Luffy, and none were in the condition to go searching anyways, not with their injuries. 

Sanji had taken charge. He'd said they needed to look for leads, for anyone who had seen anything at all, but since they were all so injured and exhausted, there was nothing to do but sleep first and wake Luffy as soon as they could. Immature as he was, he was the captain. The next course of action was for him to decide.

Vivi and Nami shared several looks before the crew had decided to rest. They both knew why it was that Zoro was taken. The knowledge sat like a rock in Vivi's gut, dread and fear and guilt wrapped up in one loathsome clump of worry that wouldn't go away. She couldn't sleep. The crew were in the infirmary, all exhausted. They'd saved her country and for that she was grateful. And she'd paid them back by withholding what she knew about Zoro. They could have been ready, if she'd just told them all. But she didn't tell them. Worse yet, she distracted them with the problems of her country, hurt them in doing so and allowed them to lose sight of their crewmate so that he could be stolen.

Stolen back to a life of slavery under the boots of the Celestial Dragons. She knew she needed to tell the others what she had kept from them She could tell Nami knew as well. But with everyone exhausted and on the verge of collapse, it hadn't been the time. The knowledge would just keep them awake and further prevent them from getting the rest they needed, as it was for Vivi. 

It was raining. It had been since the end of the battle. Vivi was perched on the windowsill, legs drawn up and chin resting on her knees to watch the droplets fall. 

All she could imagine upon closing her eyes were those damned nobles with their chains and cages and abuse. All she could see was Zoro with one of those horrible metal collars around his neck. Smiling and submitting for the greedy, disgusting creatures that had stolen his life away. 

She hadn't wanted  _ anyone  _ to get hurt. But now Zoro, with his ever-growing strength and his slowly growing trust for his crew, was gone. To be subjected to that again, because  _ she  _ had distracted his nakama with her own problems, had neglected to tell them  _ all  _ about Zoro's enemies.

Tears were in her eyes, not for the first time. 

Quiet footsteps approached her and she heard movement next to her on the windowsill. 

She looked up, blinking the tears away to see Nami, who looked just as exhausted and just as worried. It seemed Vivi wasn't the only one who couldn't sleep. 

"Vivi," Nami said softly. 

Vivi looked away. She couldn't bear to meet her eyes. 

"Vivi." Nami repeated. "It's not your fault. We all should have been on guard.

"I should have told the others," she whispered. "We could have prevented this… if we'd just been  _ ready _ ."

"Vivi, I knew too. And I didn't tell them, either."

Vivi looked up again. Nami's eyes were shiny with unshed tears in the dim light of the room. 

"But we can't - we can't change that now. We have to move forward." Nami continued

Vivi knew she was right.

"When - when they took him from the cage, I… I was afraid for the worst… but then Sanji brought him back, and after that so much was happening… I wasn't thinking about it." Vivi said softly. "We should have realized something was wrong, then. We should have…"

"But we didn't… so now we have to move forward anyways. I told you, didn't I? If anyone comes after Zoro, we'll fight them. That's still true… if anyone can save Zoro, Luffy can. We can. And we will."

"Every time I close my eyes I see them." Vivi whispered, voice becoming shaky. "The nobles… they're  _ horrible _ , Nami. We can't… we can't let them…"

"We won't. We won't, Vivi." Nami said. She slid off the windowsill and took Vivi's hand. "Come on. We need to sleep, and in the morning we'll tell them. And we'll figure out what to do."

Vivi allowed herself to be led to one of the infirmary's beds. Nami pushed her to lay down and then laid next to her. Vivi stared into the darkness, still afraid of closing her eyes. 

Nami again took her hand, and then there was shifting, and then Nami was holding her. She smelled of sweat and tangerines and it was familiar. "Go to sleep." She said. 

Vivi closed her eyes and found only darkness, the images that had plagued her held off by Nami's presence. 

When she awoke in the morning, it was after the others. Nami was gone from her side, and Vivi saw her across the room conversing in low tones with a visibly tired Sanji. Chopper was fussing over Usopp, who still looked terrible, covered in casts and bandages. The reindeer looked exhausted himself, and he had lost his usual enthusiasm.

Vivi sat up, catching Sanji's eye. He and Nami approached her. 

"We're going to wake Luffy," Nami told her, and Vivi nodded, though anxiety filled her at the thought of telling everyone what she knew. 

They were soon all around his bedside. He was feverish, sick from exhaustion and blood loss - he'd had the hardest fight out of all of them. 

That didn't stop Nami from grabbing his shoulders and shaking, calling his name until a low groan came from between his lips. 

"Luffy! Wake up!"

His eyes cracked open. "Nami? M'tired…" he whined. There was none of his usual childishness in it. The only thing in his voice was fatigue. 

"Luffy. Zoro's gone. Someone took him. You're the captain - we need you." Nami didn't try to sugarcoat it.

That had Luffy sitting bolt upright. His eyes, lidded in his exhaustion but still somehow full of worry, swept over them all. "Zoro? Who? Where?"

"We don't know, Captain. He's gone." 

Lidded eyes went wider and then Luffy was straining to get up, mouth twisted in a frown and eyebrows furrowing. "Then we gotta find him!"

Chopper pushed him down. "Luffy, don't move, you're - you're too sick. It's not healthy."

Luffy pushed him aside and slid out of the bed. His feet wobbled on the floor. 

"Why aren't we following him?" Luffy asked, panting from just the exertion of standing. Though tired, his voice was serious. He looked up, eyes flitting between each of his crew members. When they landed on Vivi, she was jarred by the sheer amount of fear present in them. 

She'd known Luffy loved his crew, but that fear was the fear of someone who was about to lose  _ everything _ . She supposed she shouldn't be surprised, but… it was terrible, seeing such a usually brave and cheerful face taken over by fear, actual  _ fear.  _

"He left no trail, Luffy… whoever took him left nothing behind…" Chopper explained, pushing Luffy to sit. It wasn't hard with his wobbling.

"And we have no idea who would want to take him! He doesn't even have a bounty, so it wasn't the marines! We don't know where to start looking." Usopp added. 

At hearing this, Luffy's expression only became more worried. His eyes were quite wide and unblinking, staring at his lap. There were bags under them - no doubt he was still exhausted, and maybe that was part of the reason he wasn't able to bounce back from the shock and jump into action.

Vivi couldn't stand that expression anymore. Luffy needed to know what she knew. As terrible as it was, it was some kind of lead. Hope. She looked at Nami, who nodded. "A… actually… I might know."

Four heads swiveled towards her. "I know who… who  _ owned  _ Zoro. And they probably want him back." 

There was silence in response, until Luffy managed to catch Vivi's eyes. She'd been meaning to avoid eye contact, but she couldn't pull away. The fear was still there, breaking her heart with each second she had to stare at it, but there was a desperate determination there, too. "What do you mean?"

Vivi sat on the infirmary bed that was behind her. "When… When I was much younger, I attended the Reverie with my father. It's… it's a meeting every few years by the rulers of countries around the world, and it takes place in Mariejois, where the World Nobles live."

She decided to elaborate - Nami hadn't known very much, and it was likely the others didn't. "The World Nobles are… they're the descendents of the families that first formed the world government at the end of the void century hundreds of years ago. They… they see themselves as gods on earth. They see humans as below them. They call themselves the Celestial Dragons."

Luffy's expression had darkened considerably towards the end of her explanation. "I know who they are." He ground out, staring unseeingly at the ground between them.

Vivi hesitated, but decided to continue. "At the Reverie, I saw several of them. They were horrible… I've never seen anyone more depraved… And one… one of them I saw with a slave. That slave had the same brand as Zoro. It's… it's their mark, Luffy. Zoro belonged to the World Nobles, and they want him back."

Luffy launched himself to his feet at that. "Those  _ bastards _ ! They can't have Zoro! He's free! They  _ can't _ take him, too! Nami! Take us to where they live, I'll beat their asses, see if they can take my fucking family then!!"

Again, Chopper pushed him to sit, but Luffy fought it this time. 

"Zoro's  _ not  _ going back to the - Chopper,  _ stop _ , - We need to go,  _ now _ !" His fists were clenched so hard Vivi was sure his fingernails would draw blood.

Sanji was staring at the ground, a little pale, both from Luffy's outburst and likely from his own prior knowledge of the world nobles. "Luffy, the Celestial Dragons aren't people you can just "go beat up." They're the highest ranking people in the world. They live on top of the Red Line, with more security than you can even imagine. You can't  _ fight _ them. Not without an army." He looked like saying it physically hurt him. "We need to get him back  _ before  _ he's taken to Marijois."

Vivi nodded, frowning. "Otherwise… he'll… he'll be a slave again, and… I don't think we'll ever be able to save him."

At that, Luffy sucked in a breath and lost his balance as if physically struck. He dropped back onto the bed, holding his head. He was still feverish and exhausted, and this on top of that could not be good for him. 

"Then we need to  _ stop _ whoever took him." He whispered. "We're  _ not _ losing Zoro."

"They… they have to leave Alabasta, right?" Nami began. "We should watch the port, and then… Vivi, the Marines are under the World Noble's thumbs, right?" Vivi gave a little nod when their eyes met. "If we can't catch them at the port, we'll see if the marines have any information. But we'll have to hurry. Is that alright, Luffy?" 

Vivi supposed the plan made sense. 

Luffy nodded. "If we can't find him, though… I'm going to fight those nobles. I don't give a damn if it's impossible." 

Vivi couldn't really be surprised at that.

\- - -

Angry was an understatement. The agent was livid. Livid, because how  _ dare  _ the Shichibukai and Demon Child betray him like that? They'd had an  _ agreement _ , he'd done their  _ chores  _ for them. 

He did not like answering to people without recompense. That was what slaves did. That was what the green-haired wretch tied in the bottom of his  _ rowboat _ did.  _ Rowboat _ , because he'd been betrayed and now had no other way back to Nanohana where he'd left his crew.

He'd accepted the deal with the Shichibukai so that he could more easily capture his target. He did not like answering to others like a dog (government excluded, of course - he didn't have a choice in that matter at this point) and the idea that they'd  _ used  _ him left him angrier the longer he thought about it. If they hadn't intervened and betrayed him, he wouldn't have had to resort to such exhausting measures. He could have grabbed his target much earlier and easily slipped out to sea with his crew.

He'd taken matters into his own hands since they betrayed him. He'd stolen a horse to get to Alubarna. He'd used Geppo to cross the river. It had left him exhausted. He still  _ was  _ exhausted but by the time he'd reached Alubarna there had been little time to do anything but grab his target and high-tail it out of there, dragging him to the river and stealing a fisherman's rowboat. 

It was nighttime and he was tired, but he wasn't about to take his chances with that pirate captain, so he was still moving. Monkey D. Luffy was injured now, and he could probably take him in a fight given that, but he wasn't keen on it. Arlong and Don Krieg of East Blue and now Crocodile of the Grand Line had failed to take the boy seriously. He wasn't going to make the same mistake. 

Pathetic, he mused, that Crocodile, a Shichibukai, hadn't killed a single one of the Straw Hat crew (a crew of rookies!) despite having trapped them in a cage, at his mercy

Now they were his problem, and he was not appreciative of it. They'd be on his scent for a while.

That was, if they even found it. He was certain he'd be pursued. That crew was far too protective of their runaway slave. But he knew how to be careful. He knew how to hide his trail. He glared at his captive with distaste, and scowled further when the wretch stirred and opened his eyes, then sat up in an impressive show of strength - he was still very,  _ very  _ injured. 

The wretch's eyes landed on the agent, and he scooted back and pulled against his bonds. The agent idly watched his muscles bulge with the strain, smirking at the dumb brute strength this runaway thought would save him.

Then, though, the bound man  _ threw himself into the water  _ and started kicking towards the shore. 

"You've  _ got  _ to be kidding me." The agent hissed. He looked around in the boat and his eyes landed on a fishing net - perfect. 

He tossed the net and was quite pleased when it cleanly landed over the would-be escapee and ensnared him. As an agent, he'd picked up a fair amount of random skills. A previous, long-term assignment had required he learn to toss nets. It had been useful outside that assignment on more than one occasion. 

He reeled the wretch in, but huffed a frustrated breath when he put up a fight, again pulling and straining his muscles to get free. He only succeeded in further ensnaring himself, until the agent pulled him in and dropped his wet body unceremoniously on the boat's floor where he lay writhing in an attempt to escape. 

A smirk rose to the agent's face as in his mind he compared the wretch to a fish. It was fitting, he thought. His captive was simply a dumb animal that knew nothing more than to wriggle and flop around in a vain attempt at freedom. 

He didn't bother to remove the net or try to dry the wretch. He'd thrown himself into the water. He could deal with the consequences, deal with the freezing air of a desert at night that was already causing tremors in his injured body. 

"Don't struggle." The agent muttered, allowing himself the pleasure of burying his boot in the wretch's stomach. 

He stepped back and sat down on the boat's seat, watching his captive shrink in on himself and wheeze in pain from the kick, which he realized probably opened one of his wounds. He shrugged it off. No matter. A little cold and pain wouldn't kill the wretch, and it seemed he needed to relearn his place in the world anyways. He'd see to the injury later.

Eventually the wretch exhausted himself and did not wake until morning light, when they were still floating down the river, following its current. 

Up on the river bank were the first signs of the huts on the far edges of Nanohana. From his first journey through this area the agent remembered that these huts were uninhabited. The perfect place to lay low until it was safe to continue his mission. No one would see him if he made landfall now - it was still barely morning. The first rays of the sun were only just touching the land. He rowed the boat to the shore, ignoring the half-hearted struggling the wretch was making. He was still wrapped in the net, and from the corner of his eye the agent saw a dark spot on his stomach. Apparently he  _ had  _ opened some wounds. Not that he cared. 

When he'd successfully tethered the boat to an old, half-rotted pier, he unloaded his captive, throwing him over his shoulder in order to carry him, and took him into one of the abandoned huts. 

There, he threw him roughly to the ground and ignored his grunt of pain and quiet wheezing.

He took the net from around the wretch's body and quickly bound his ankles with some rope that had been in the rowboat. The rest he used to tie around his wrists (over the cuffs already there) and then up to a wooden support beam running horizontally over their heads, making his captive stand. He watched for a moment as he shifted his weight awkwardly on his bound feet, trying to find a way out.

That would keep him in place. 

In the meantime, he needed sleep. He shut the half-rotted door and sat in front of it, where he shut his eyes and finally let himself rest. 

It was much later when he awoke - late afternoon. He glanced at his captive to see him slumped over but still standing, limp in his bonds. His arms were still tied up, and blood ran down his wrists, likely from struggling. 

The agent stood, waking the wretch in the process. His captive started struggling again, little huffs of pain leaving his mouth with each move his wrists made against the cuffs and rope. The agent rolled his eyes. 

He approached him and checked the bonds. Finding that they hadn't been weakened, just loosened a little, the agent tightened them again and left the hut to go and find his men - he'd left them here in Nanohana near the port and told them to wait. It took around two hours to reach the port, even walking quickly, but when he did it was easy to locate the inn where he'd told them to stay. 

They had a short conversation, during which he let them know that the Straw Hats would be following them soon, and it was time to prepare for their departure. Then, it was back to his captive to make the final preparations. 

When he returned, yet another two hours later, he bought some bandages along the way - both for his own wounds from the crocodile pit and for the wretch. He didn't need his target dying before they reached their destination, as little as he cared for his health. 

He entered the hut again and found the wretch half-untied, one arm bloody and shaking from strain and rope burn as he attempted to untie his other wrist. The wretch's head whipped to face him and his eyes went wide. 

The agent stared at him a moment, unimpressed, and then approached. He easily avoided a punch to his face, sidestepping as the wretch overbalanced on his still tied together feet and fell, only for the rope on his still-bound wrist to catch it and yank hard on his shoulder, bringing a grunt of pain and a series of gasping breaths with it. The wretch was trembling, whether with exhaustion, pain or fear the agent couldn't tell. It was probably all three.

He cut the shivering wretch down and used some remaining rope to once again tie his wrists together, now behind him. He examined the cuffs, the chain between which the wretch had somehow broken. Blood was running down both arms, the area under the bonds rubbed raw and cut into from all his struggling. 

His skin was hot to the touch and the agent had no doubt he was feverish.

Still, even with his trembling and sickness, the wretch tried to struggle. The agent grabbed a fistfull of hair and slammed his head into the ground, momentarily stunning him enough to set him up and wrench his ruined shirt and bandages off and get a look at the slashes all over his torso. 

Once he recovered, the wretch began to tremble harder at the treatment, breath picking up enough to tell the agent he was panicking. That worked fine for him. It meant the twitches and sudden jolts in an attempt to break free were weaker. He ignored the wretch's struggles for air and bandaged his chest and side, where the worst of the cuts were. Then, he stood back. Now they wouldn't be infected, and he didn't have to worry about the wretch dying while he brought him to Sabaody.

\- - -

Sanji was exhausted by the time they reached the Merry. Their plan was very vague. At least they had one, though. It felt better than doing nothing. 

Luffy could still hardly walk without his exhaustion getting the better of him, so it was up to the rest of them to man the ship while he sat on the figurehead, pensive and worried and tired. Sanji didn't like that expression on him. Not that he didn't understand. He felt the same.

He should have figured Zoro wouldn't be safe. This world didn't give anything to people like their swordsman. It was unfair, and always made the people most deserving of freedom struggle for it. He'd known he'd been a slave, but he hadn't figured that he belonged to someone so high up, who might have the power to take him back.

The announcement of Vivi's return was supposed to happen tomorrow, but when her father had heard of their situation and Vivi's determinedness to help, he'd allowed her to go, urging them to find their friend quickly and assuring them he'd let them know of any suspicious goings-on in his country should they have to leave. 

Vivi's continued separation from her people was obviously making her nervous. Her country wanted to hear from their princess, but she couldn't be there to speak to them. This, on top of everything else, was weighing down on her. Sanji made sure to give her a few reassuring words when he could.

They were pulling away from Erumalu now, ready to head back down the coast to Nanohana. Their voyage would take several hours.

It was thirty minutes into the trip that the door to the galley opened and a woman exited onto the deck. Sanji recognized her - Miss All-Sunday. The woman who had given Zoro back to them after taking him away. 

"What are you doing here, Baroque Works!?" Vivi was the first to speak, eyes wide and terrified as she stepped forward to partially place herself between the newcomer and the crew. Always so selfless. "You've lost! Leave this country and this crew  _ alone! _ "

The whole crew was on guard. Yes, she had helped them. But she was still the enemy.

"Baroque Works is no more," the woman said, and though her tone was smooth and almost playful. Sanji could see that her eyes were guarded. 

Luffy slid off the figurehead and hobbled to the group circled around the woman. "It's you," he said tiredly, with none of his usual enthusiasm. 

"I came to ask permission to join your crew, Straw Hat Luffy. After what you did to me, I think it's only fair."

A shocked silence fell over the ship, and Sanji saw the surprise and, in Vivi's case, fear that took over everyone's faces. 

Only Luffy didn't look too surprised. "Alright," he said. 

This pushed his crewmates into action. Sanji himself was speechless, but Vivi and Nami both turned to Luffy and Nami grabbed him by the shoulders while they both voiced their disapproval. 

"Luffy! She was Crocodile's  _ right hand _ ! She tried to  _ destroy _ Alabasta! We can't trust her!" Nami cried. 

Sanji had to agree with them partially, but there was also the matter of what she'd done for them. And her claim that  _ Luffy  _ had done something to  _ her _ .

"Oi, Luffy? What does she mean, what you did to her?" He wanted to be angry, probably would be under normal circumstances, but he didn't have the energy for that now, and all he could manage was tired curiosity with a little bit of bite. 

Luffy looked at him, ignoring Nami, who was still talking to him. He shrugged.

"You made me live when I wanted to die," Miss All-Sunday claimed, taking a step towards Luffy. "And now I've got nowhere left to go, so I am your responsibility."

What kind of logic was that?

Luffy seemed to accept it though, because he nodded.

Vivi turned to Miss All-Sunday, trembling in some emotion. Fear? Anger? "You tried to  _ destroy _ Alabasta! How  _ dare  _ you!? Do you know how many people you would have  _ killed _ !?" 

Miss All-Sunday didn't seem to have an answer for that. 

Usopp, who had hidden from her behind the mast, looked at Luffy. "Oi, oi, Luffy, we don't know  _ anything _ about her! With everything that's happened we don't have space for more uncertainty! What if she's working with  _ them? _ "

\- - -

Nico Robin was not surprised at the less than warm welcome she was given upon revealing herself. She had experienced the same from every group she'd joined to protect herself over the past twenty years. She knew how to deal with accusatory looks and the distrust that filled the air whenever she was nearby her "allies."

She'd decided it was no longer worth it to seek her dream. It wasn't a viable option anymore in this world that hated her existence. But Straw Hat had taken that decision away from her. She meant what she'd said, about her being his responsibility. She was somewhat curious, as well, about this boy that would save her life expecting nothing in return and then let her join his crew, no questions asked.

The others on the crew were eyeing her with distaste and she was used to that. But the captain himself didn't have anything of the sort in his eyes. His emotions were unguarded and he wasn't trying to pry into her. 

He looked somehow more tired than when she'd last seen him, when he'd carried her from the tomb she'd prepared to die in. He looked worried. 

She'd noticed as soon as the crew boarded their ship that the swordsman was not present, and she was sure that it was the reason for the lack of cheer despite their victory. 

She ignored the lack of acceptance of her presence from the crew. She had information - information that would help them find their missing crewmate, and information that would hopefully mark her useful in their eyes and grant her protection for a few more months.

So she told them what she knew, and when they reached Nanohana she pointed out the ship the agent had arrived on where it was sailing away on the horizon. 

\- - -

The agent hung up his transponder snail after his crew accepted their orders. He turned away from the sea to begin the walk back along the river towards the hut he was occupying. When he'd left, the wretch had been unconscious. He'd been gone a long time, though. The agent wondered if he'd tried once more to escape. 

He got his answer when he opened the door. The wretch was freed from his bonds and was sitting, pulling the last of the rope from his ankles. Both his ankles and his wrists were badly torn up. He looked up and saw the agent, and then in a flash, too fast for someone who was injured like him, he was up and darting past the agent out the door.

The agent reacted quickly and grabbed his wrist, but the wretch pulled away from the hold with quite a loud yell of "Let me  _ go! _ " that echoed through the empty area of town.

This surprised the agent, and in a few moments he'd hate that he stalled because it gave the wretch enough time to swing an impressive punch at his face, knocking him over with the force. The wretch was certainly ahead of him in the area of brute strength. 

The wretch took off running and disappeared around a corner just as the agent righted himself and gave chase. 

Every corner he turned he saw one of the wretch's legs just receding behind another. Apparently he was intelligent enough to try and lose him in the streets. 

The agent sped up his running - he wasn't going to let that happen. To his surprise, the wretch kept his speed up and he just barely saw him leap up and grab at the bricks of a house so that he could scramble on top of it when he came to a dead end. The agent kicked off the ground and then off the air, using geppo to pursue him despite the aching soreness in his legs. He was not about to lose him. 

No obstacle proved too much for the wretch. When they came to a more populated area, he seemed to slip through the crowds as if he didn't take up any space at all, and several times the agent saw him lose his footing and trip only to get up and somehow lengthen the distance between them. 

They were coming to the port area now - the wretch had run away from the river and towards the sea. The agent saw him look down an alley and then turn and sprint down it, and at the end he came to the place where the buildings stopped and there was a thin strip of land between them and the ocean.

The wretch didn't slow down or change directions to run along the water, and the agent worried for a moment that he'd jump into the ocean, but suddenly he stopped. 

He didn't just stop running. It was as if a switch flipped in him. He didn't sway with his exhaustion or look around to decide where to go. He didn't even seem to be breathing. 

The agent didn't miss his chance. He ran up and tackled the wretch from behind, grabbing his head and driving it into the ground below them. 

Under him, the wretch was trembling, and suddenly he was gasping for breath, shaking badly. His adrenaline seemed to have left him and the agent had no trouble retying his wrists behind him. 

The only movement the wretch made was to turn his head from the ground so that he was looking out at the sea. The agent looked up and saw what it was he was so transfixed by. The Straw Hat's ship, facing away from them in pursuit of the men the agent had ordered to go on ahead. 

The agent smirked and grabbed the wretch by a fistful of his hair. He picked his head up to give him a better view of the receding ship. 

The gasping got louder and more desperate and the wretch's mouth worked as if he was trying to speak, but no words came and instead little, choppy cries left his mouth. His whole body was shuddering and his face was red as he struggled to breathe. There were tears in his eyes, now dripping down his face and leaving tracks in the dust and sand and blood caked on it. 

It wasn't hard for the agent to gauge what was happening in the wretch's head. 

He leaned close to the wretch's ear. "They're leaving you behind. They never wanted you."

A long whine left the wretch's throat, and that whine broke and cracked into a fit of breathless sobs. He was still wheezing for breath. 

The tears were coming faster now, and the agent basked in it. Perhaps now this operation would be easier. 

"Now, now, it's alright, slave." The agent leaned in close again so the wretch shivered despite the shudders already racking him. 

He did not struggle at all and the agent held him by his hair for a long time as they watched the Straw Hat's ship approach the horizon and then disappear. 

"They've left you behind." This caused another fit of little sobs to come from the wretch's mouth. "But your Master wants you back."

The wretch froze. Suddenly his eyes were looking to the side towards the agent, wide and shocked. 

"That's right. You remember him?"

The wretch remained completely frozen until he had to breathe. Once he did, his tears came back again. Really, was the wretch  _ that _ easy to manipulate? 

"I'll take you back to him. He wants you."

It was almost laughably easy to pull the wretch up to stand. He even walked on his own when the agent pulled him back away from the sea, albeit slowly and weakly. He cast one look back at it, and the agent could feel how he was trembling even where he was just holding his wrist. 

"He wants me…?" The wretch slowly whispered, about five minutes into their walk back to the hut. 

"Yes."

The wretch, to the agent's surprise, stopped his crying.

Then, waveringly, he smiled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :^)


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yo! I return with another chaper! :^)
> 
> Again, thanks to BookCreature for beta reading!   
> Hope y'all enjoy!!

Luffy couldn't sleep. He was exhausted and Chopper kept urging him to rest - in fact, all his nakama assured him that they were sailing as fast as they could after the ship that had taken Zoro. He was too tired to get out of his hammock, and yet he was restless. 

His crew seemed in agreement about what he should do. "Oi, rest up, Luffy. You'll need to be in good shape to help get Zoro back," Sanji had said, though he hadn't met Luffy's eyes and his voice had had a nervous, tired edge to it. 

Something was very wrong. It was the middle of the first night, and Chopper and Nami had descended from the first watch and sent Sanji and Usopp up to take over. (They were rotating in shifts with two crewmates to better keep the ship on track). The new crewmate, Robin, was in the girls' room. The rest of them remained in the boys' room, and Luffy was glad for it. Hearing all of his present nakama's breathing and feeling their presence throughout the night was better than silence. It reminded him that they were still there. 

"Nami," he called softly as she stepped down off the ladder, which she'd climbed down to enter. 

Her eyes shone a little in the dark and she approached him quietly. "Yeah, Luffy?" She sounded just as tired as Sanji had, as tired as Luffy felt. 

"The ship. We still following the ship?" He asked softly. If they lost that ship… if they lost that ship, they'd lost Zoro. Luffy wasn't giving up on his swordsman no matter what, but he could not deny that he feared the idea of never seeing his crewmate again. 

He'd asked Vivi earlier in the night, when Sanji and Usopp had been asleep and it was just the two of them awake in the cabin. He wasn't one to care about people's pasts, but he'd wanted to know more about the people who had taken Sabo from him and were now trying to take Zoro. He wanted to be ready. He knew this time it may not be as simple as "whose ass do I need to kick?"

Vivi had told him horrible things, and had cried and apologized, said "I'm sorry, I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner, Luffy." 

And now the image of Zoro in chains wouldn't leave him. Zoro wasn't meant to be in chains. Zoro was meant to be free. Luffy had asked him to be free with him, and now he was again captured and trapped. 

He didn't blame Vivi of course. He would never. He'd scooted over, allowed her into the hammock with him where she cried into his chest and where he held her tightly, breathing slowly and measuredly so that she could try to match it. A captain supported his crew. It wasn't his place to cry, not until they had Zoro safely back with him - he had to be his crew's rock. 

He'd told her not to be afraid, that they'd find Zoro. He'd wondered how Usopp managed to tell his lies so easily. He'd wondered why it'd felt like a lie. 

Vivi was still in his hammock with him after he'd held her as she softly cried herself into sleep, his eyes open and staring at the wall. She was in a deep enough sleep that she had not yet awoken, even with Luffy's whispered question to Nami.

"They're still on the horizon," Nami whispered back. "...Luffy, it's wrong."

Luffy managed a nod even though his chin was pressed against Vivi's head. "I know."

He did know. It was too easy. He wasn't smart - he knew that, that was why he had his crewmates - but even he knew that a secret agent sent by the World Government would not be so easy to tail. 

Zoro wasn't on that ship.

"Nami, what do we do?" He forced his voice not to sound small. He felt lost. His crewmates weren't supposed to be stolen. His crewmates weren't supposed to be enslaved. He was supposed to be able to get in a fight and kick someone's ass and save the day.

There was no fight here. At least not yet. There was no guarantee that there would even  _ be  _ one. 

Nami was silent for a moment, and for that moment Luffy feared for the worst, feared that his navigator didn't know what to do, either. 

"That ship's our only clue… we have to keep following it." Nami answered and Luffy felt a bit of the overwhelming pressure in his chest release. 

Right.

"Right?" Nami asked.

The pressure returned as he met her eyes. She looked afraid, just as afraid as he felt inside. He tried not to let that show and outstretched the arm that had been over Vivi's shoulder for her to take his hand. 

She did, and he squeezed it. Her fingers were cold. Her hand was shaking. "Right." He affirmed. His navigator needed him to be certain. 

She squeezed back. "I'll keep us on that ship, Captain." She said softly. "So will the others."

Luffy nodded. "Nami, we'll find him. We'll find Zoro." Just like with Vivi, the self-doubt curled itself up in his chest and the pressure was painful, but Nami's face hardened into determination and she set her jaw and nodded. 

"Sleep… Sanji and Usopp'll keep us on track till morning." Luffy murmured to her. 

"You should sleep too, Captain." She said softly. She let go of his hand and he let his arm return to wrap gently around Vivi. 

He nodded his understanding, but did not sleep. 

When morning came, Vivi got out of the hammock and Luffy was still too exhausted to stand. He wondered how long he would have slept had he not been awoken after his fight. His limbs felt like lead.

"Thank you, Luffy…" the princess of Alabasta said softly, and he nodded. 

Usopp came down the ladder and Luffy met his eyes. "Still on the ship's tail, Luffy. Nami told me you'd wanna know."

Luffy nodded. "Thanks…"

His crewmates, except for Robin, took their breakfast downstairs with him, and though he was hungry he didn't have an appetite for much - a feeling he hated - and could not sit up properly for long. He needed to sleep, to rest, but he simply could not.

Sanji kept giving him worried looks - he knew it was unlike him not to eat. He did his best to take a few bites for his cook's sake, but he eventually gave up. 

After the meal his crew went to the deck to continue following the agent's ship, all except Chopper who stood by the side of Luffy's hammock and fretted over him for a bit, obviously needing to feel like he was useful. Luffy allowed it, and when the little reindeer ran out of things to patch up and medicines to mutter about and hesitated for a moment, Luffy ruffled the fur on his head with a hand.

This resulted in Chopper throwing his small body into Luffy and hugging him tightly with his stubby arms. Luffy returned the embrace without hesitation even though his arms still felt heavy. 

"L-luffy!" He sniffled into his chest. 

"Chopper, we're gonna find him. Don't worry." Luffy murmured in the best comforting tone he could muster. "And when we do, you'll fix him up, yeah? Because you're our doctor."

Was this how Ace always felt when they were young? Holding back tears and offering his steadfast determination as comfort? He gave his doctor a little squeeze and then let him pull away. Chopper wiped his eyes and then looked up to meet Luffy's. He gave a determined nod. 

"Y-yeah," he managed. "I'm… gonna go help on deck… Luffy, try to sleep, okay? You really need it."

Luffy nodded. 

\- - -

Nico Robin was nervous. Her new crew had been sailing after the agent's ship for what would be a full day come this afternoon, and each time it seemed they'd lost it over the horizon, it reappeared to them not long later. 

Perhaps, if she wasn't already suspicious, she may have believed that this was due to chance - both ships were sailing at the fastest speed possible and every time they could see the agent's ship it was during a lucky gust of wind. 

But this was a Cipher Pol agent they were dealing with. And there had been no attempts to outmaneuver them and so far it had been worryingly  _ easy  _ to follow them. 

Increasingly, Nico Robin was certain they'd been tricked. 

She wondered whether she should tell the crew. They may already know, but this ship was their only lead, so what were they to do if it was a trick? They couldn't simply give up on the only potential clue about their swordsman. 

If they  _ didn't  _ know… would they blame her? She was quite sure that she could take them if need be, especially in their injured states, but she did not  _ want  _ to. 

Increasingly, after viewing their interactions, she wanted to  _ help  _ this crew. She'd watched them speak to each other, and she'd found that they operated like a family. They leaned on each other and truly cared for each other. Like with the swordsman when she had first let him go, she did not wish to separate the people who had found what she had long been searching for, what Saul had promised her. 

They hadn't hurt her yet. Far from it, really. She'd been given her own room (apparently in normal cases it was the girls' room, but the crew were all currently sleeping together in the boys' room so they let her have it to herself) and they'd fed her well. She'd been treated with hesitant kindness from the tired and worried crewmembers and it was more than she felt she deserved.

She did not want to have to fight them. She did not want to tell them the bad news. If they found out without her, though, wouldn't they be angrier? She did not want to be a liar, not to them.

It was the first morning on the ship - they'd left the afternoon of the day before - and still she could see the white sails on the horizon, never fully leaving them. It was quite early - she had gotten up when the first of her new crewmates began the day. She'd spent the night sleeping in short spurts and keeping an eye on their actions.

Several times she'd used her powers to look into the room that was through the wall from her own, and every time she saw the crew tangled in one another's limbs, sleeping restlessly in most cases, except for the captain, who, despite his closed eyes, was never really asleep when she looked. More than once the others were awake, though, speaking in soft tones or (rather endearingly) cuddling into one another for comfort.

Taking down Crocodile had been no small feat. Robin was not surprised at their exhaustion, but seeing them going to each other for support throughout the night had filled her with longing, and several times she'd caught herself wondering if she could ever share that trust. 

Of course she could not. She was the Demon Child of Ohara, and they were kind pirates who didn't deserve her manipulation.

It was early morning when she heard movement and crossed her arms to form an eye on the deck to watch the cook climb down from the crow's nest, where he'd climbed up with the sniper in the middle of the night. He looked tired, but did not hesitate when he hopped down onto the deck and walked away from the mast. Her eyes followed him into the galley and watched him light a cigarette and begin to cook breakfast. 

She decided to get up. 

She ascended the steps and quietly made her way to join him in the galley. He did not seem surprised at her entrance, though he eyed her a little warily. 

"Robin-chan," he greeted respectfully. His voice was tired and he was making no effort to hide it. "Would you like coffee?"

Robin supposed that wouldn't do any harm, especially if she could watch him prepare it. "Yes please, cook-san."

He stiffened just a little at her calling him that. She wondered why. A few minutes later he set the coffee in front of her and then got to work on another drink, which he had prepared and placed on the table just when the door opened and the sniper entered, his footsteps stopping when he froze to stare at Robin. After a moment of his wide eyes boring into her, he continued his approach towards the table and took a seat to drink the coffee that the cook had prepared. Unlike hers, his had cream and sugar in it.

Breakfast was soon finished, but the cook seemed to be waiting to serve it. 

The sniper finished his coffee, and there was some movement from down in the bunk room. The cook looked at Robin, and then away, as if debating something in his mind. He met her eyes again when he settled on a decision. "Robin-chan, would you like to join us downstairs? Luffy can't move, so we're moving down to eat with him again."

Robin blinked in surprise at the invitation. She hesitated. She hadn't expected that. To be invited to eat together with the rest of the crew, completely informally. As if they  _ wanted  _ to include her. When she'd eaten before, it had been alone in the galley, and she hadn't been surprised at all that she hadn't been invited downstairs. 

She took a moment, then offered a smile to the cook. "Thank you, cook-san, but I'm alright up here. I'll keep an eye on the agent's ship for you, so that you can all eat in peace."

Again, he stiffened just the tiniest bit at the use of his title. Perhaps she ought to use his name. He moved on, though, and nodded at her. 

"Alright. Thank you." He said softly. 

There was silence as he served some of the breakfast - a simple meal of eggs and bacon - onto a plate and set it gracefully in front of her. 

"Thank you."

The cook then took a stack of plates and the pans he'd prepared the food in and some utensils and exited the galley, presumably to deliver it downstairs. 

The sniper glanced at her. He looked… incredibly nervous. Out of the whole crew, he and the doctor looked at her with the most fear, and the princess had continued to shoot her glares whenever they passed each other by the day before. 

The sniper opened his mouth, and then closed it again, and then hesitated, and then finally spoke "...Zoro always calls him Cook… so…"

He trailed off from the awkward statement. After a while of silence he stood and left to head to the bunk room. Robin ate her breakfast in quiet contemplation. That made a lot of sense.

It was a while before her new crew sounded like they finished eating and the cook - Sanji, she reminded herself - returned with empty plates, which he began to wash in the sink. 

They remained in silence for a long moment.

"Robin-chan," the cook began, and Robin's eyes went to where he stood at the counter, lighting what was at least his second cigarette of the morning. 

"Yes?" 

"Who is that agent? You were working with him. Who was he with? Is it just the government, or some organization?"

They'd discussed that she had met the agent, and that she knew the ship he'd arrived on. At the time, the crew had been too tired and rushed to ask for any further information, and Robin had wondered when they would.

She had expected the question, especially from him, the one she had given the swordsman back to. 

"When the World Government wants something done, they send agents from a secret organization called Cipher Pol. That is who has taken your swordsman. I do not know much else about the agent, other than that he is undoubtedly Cipher Pol." She answered truthfully. 

She still did not know why it was that the swordsman should be targeted. The cook didn't seem  _ confused  _ by the swordsman's disappearance, and neither did the rest of them, so she could only assume that he knew why. She wondered if it would be acceptable to ask. 

"Cipher Pol…" the cook repeated, taking a long drag from his cigarette. He then fixed his eyes on Robin again. "Why did you give him back to us?"

Another question Robin had been expecting, but not one she had made a decision on how to answer. Her past wasn't something she'd like to reveal. 

"I have been chased by the World Government since I was very young. Your swordsman reminded me of myself, and I did not want to resign him to the fate I have run from for so long." It was the truth, though it left out what it was that she had done to get the World Government's attention and what it was they had done to her.

The cook did not ask any further questions on that, to her relief. 

Robin decided to ask her own question, now. "...Why was he being pursued? Do you know why it is that the World Government is after him?" She supposed it wasn't too rude an inquiry, given how the conversation was already going. 

The cook blew out a puff of smoke as he sighed. 

"Zoro was a slave before he joined our crew. And we only found out recently that the person who owned him was one of the World Nobles." The cook answered, his voice measured. 

Robin couldn't help that her eyes widened a little and her hands tightened on her mug of coffee. That explained his smile and the way he'd been used to restraints. 

She hesitated a moment, and then managed a simple "...I see."

They lapsed into silence, and Robin took the time to think. It was good to know that her assumption about the swordsman was correct. He was like her, pursued because the world had been cruel to him. Perhaps she should have disposed of that agent more permanently - it would have been easy to break his neck, but she hadn't known how twisted the World Government's justice really was this time. Something was curled up in her gut the longer she thought. Regret? Pity?

She was silent for a while. Then, she stood. She decided now was as good a time as any to talk to the captain - she'd determined that honesty would pay with this crew. She needed to tell them what she knew, and as the captain, Straw Hat was the one who should know first. 

She made her way to the trapdoor she knew led down into the boys' room. The approach of one of her shipmates stopped her. 

The others weren't around, at least, not within earshot when the princess stepped much closer than Robin would have liked and glared up at her. "And what are you doing, All-Sunday?"

Robin pushed down any sting that her tone had caused. "Princess. Once again, I apologize for what I have done in the past. However, I must ask that you let me speak to the captain."

"What, so you can get revenge for your boss? Why do you need to wait until he's alone?"

"Princess Vivi, I have no ill intentions for your captain or any of the rest of you. I simply wish to speak with him."

The sniper appeared from the storage room and eyed them both. He placed a hand gently on Vivi's shoulder. "Vivi… she's nakama now. Luffy trusts her."

"I know! But I don't! You  _ know  _ what she tried to do to my people! Luffy - he's too good for you! He's trusting you far too much, and I swear to you that if you try anything I'll -"

"Vivi, this isn't like you." The sniper said quietly. 

Vivi pulled away from him and stalked off to the front of the ship, where she stared out at the sea. 

The sniper looked between Robin and the Princess and then followed her after a soft, near-fearful "Don't worry about her."

Robin sighed softly. Vivi was right. She had helped in the plan to destroy her country. She was right to be mad. She supposed that confrontation was bound to come whenever the two of them were alone. She found she was glad the sniper stepped in. She had nothing but apologies and excuses. 

She pulled up the trapdoor and climbed down into the boys' room. 

Luffy was awake. She was not surprised. 

"Robin," he said softly.

His voice sounded so  _ young _ . Robin was reminded of the age gap between herself and these pirates - she had to wonder if any of them were even over twenty. Luffy was just a  _ boy. _

She also wondered if she'd sounded that tired when she'd been young like him, young and afraid and running. 

"Captain-san," she greeted. 

"Is something wrong?" He tried to sit up, and she could tell it took effort. 

"Nothing immediate, captain. But… I have a concern."

He blinked, his eyes inquisitive even shadowed and tired as they were. it was too old an expression for such a young face, and again Robin was reminded of herself. 

"What is it?" He asked, and there was compassion and worry in his voice. For Robin? 

She wondered if her news would change that kindness to cold anger. She wondered how much it would hurt. 

"Captain-san, I believe we've been tricked. That ship… I do not believe your swordsman is on it." 

Luffy was silent for a moment. No fear or realization or worry took over his face. 

"I know." He said, and his eyes left hers. To hide something? "But it's our only lead, right?"

He was hiding his own fear - she could see it. His visible hand was fiddling with the ropes of the hammock where it rested against it - she'd used the same tactic herself, when she'd been younger. If that hand was free, it would be shaking. 

But the boy did a very impressive job at masking the worry on his face. Was it so that he didn't show her weakness? Because he did not trust her?

They were silent for a long moment. 

"Your crew is right. You should sleep. I know you haven't been." She didn't know why she said it - she just felt as if it needed to be said, as if he was a child she should care for as long as he would let her. 

He had his crew to worry over him, he didn't need her.

Again, he looked away from her. "...Can't." 

Robin understood that all too well. She didn't have anything to say in response.

Eventually, she exited the bunk room, the silence becoming heavier than she could take. For the next hour she simply hung around the ship, trying to relax or help out with the sailing where she could. She noticed the doctor hanging around in the corners of her vision for a long while, hiding badly for a long time and staring at her, uncertain. 

It took that full hour for him to approach her and stand there, eyes on the ground and hooves fiddling with each other, and actually talk to her. "U-um… s-sorry to, um, bother you… um, but, uh… I'm the doctor on this crew, and… oh, you already knew that… um… since you're on the crew, I'm your doctor - I mean, duh, of course I am, but…" he trailed off, seemingly unable to get to the point. Then, he took a deep breath and shut his eyes. "If you would. Um. Agree to a sort of check-up. So I can treat you if you get hurt." He said it very quickly, and then looked up at her, very obviously out of his comfort zone. 

Robin smiled and nodded, ignoring the trepidation filling her chest. How could she be mistrustful? This was a child, even more than Luffy. He had to be the youngest crewmember. His eyes were watery and round and almost afraid.. "Of course, doctor." She said softly. 

The doctor relaxed somewhat. 

They retreated into the girls' room, where, exactly as he'd said, he did a quick check-up, asking her questions about her medical history and conducting a quick examination which for some reason Robin didn't mind as much as she normally would. 

His fears seemed to leave him during this time - he was surprisingly professional, for all his stuttering and awkwardness earlier. She could see that having her to focus on helped ease his anxiety a little. 

It didn't take long until they were done, and Robin made sure to let her little crewmate know how pleasantly surprised she was. "You're very professional for such a young age, Tony-kun."

She could see him blush somehow, even through his fur. His hooved feet shuffled awkwardly where he stood and his arms did the cutest little flail, like an excited child. "D-don't - ! D-don't think I liked that compliment, woman!!" He squeaked out, obviously flattered. 

She was surprisingly happy she could give him this small joy, when his young mind was so troubled by the horrors of the world. She hadn't thought that she had the ability to make others happy.

\- - -

Usopp had been on watch with Chopper when the island came into view on the horizon. The little guy was cuddled into his side and they'd been talking idly about anything and everything, trying to keep the topic off of Zoro for now. Usopp had been glad for that - he didn't think Chopper needed to see him cry on top of the emotions he was already obviously holding back. 

Usopp had stopped talking - the sails of the agent's ship were very close to the dark line where the sky met the sea. Were they going to land?

He'd awoken the crew. It was in the earliest hours of the morning, but the island was enough to get them all up and moving. 

Well, except Luffy. According to Nami, he had actually finally dropped off into an exhausted slumber sometime around midnight, and so they had agreed to let him sleep until they landed. 

The island was not large. It was covered in thick jungle, and as they approached the air grew hot and sticky. A summer island, no doubt. The agent's ship was anchored off the shore where there was a small strip of sand between the water and the jungle. When they arrived, they anchored the Merry a little further around the island. 

Nami had awoken Luffy by this point, and he'd joined them on the deck, looking a little better but still tired. 

They agreed that Sanji would keep watch on the ship, and the rest of them would disembark and see what they could make of the island. 

They were walking along the beach when Nico Robin stopped and Usopp nearly smacked into her back. "O-oi, what's wrong?" He didn't trust her, not really. But she was mysterious and no doubt powerful and if something had made her stop it was definitely worth his crew's notice. 

Her arms were crossed, a position he'd seen her take before but not one he understood. 

"There's a marine base on this island." The woman said quietly.

"How do you know?" Nami had stopped ahead of them and was holding the back of Luffy's shirt to keep him with them. 

Vivi was next to her, eyeing Robin suspiciously. Ever since Robin had joined them when they left Alabasta three days ago, she'd been nothing but distrustful and cold towards her. Usopp understood, but that was quite a lot of anger, especially on Vivi's face which she always kept so calm. 

"My Devil Fruit." Nico Robin answered shortly. Usopp's eyes widened a little - he'd known she'd had one, but he still didn't know what it was. 

"How can a devil fruit-" Vivi was cut off by an arm sprouting from her shoulder and covering her mouth with its hand.

Usopp jumped.

"Get into the cover of the trees." Robin directed urgently, and Usopp wasn't about to fight that order, spooked by both her tone and by the arm He darted into the jungle where he ducked low into the underbrush, soon joined by his nakama. 

Just as they all hid themselves, a group of men came into view, walking along the beach, dressed in marine uniforms. They passed by, talking amongst themselves, and then Usopp realized that the way they were walking they'd reach the coast where Merry was anchored very soon. 

"They're headed for Merry!" He whispered when they were gone. 

"Their orders are to destroy your ship. I overheard them just before they came into view." Nico Robin said in a matter-of-fact tone. "They're not all that powerful - simply average soldiers, from their uniforms. I believe Sanji will be able to take them."

Vivi frowned. "How can we trust you? You could be in league with them - what if it's a trap?"

Luffy had been staring at where the marines had disappeared, but now he looked at Vivi. 

"Robin won't betray us. She's a good person. And she's right. Sanji's strong." He said in the serious voice that left no room for debate. 

Vivi looked away, upset by this. 

"...As I was saying, there is a small marine base on this island. Nothing special, likely just for monitoring this area. Whoever was on the ship we've been following is likely there. And so are any clues about your swordsman."

"Wait just a moment," Usopp stopped her. "How can you know all of this? Just what  _ is  _ your devil fruit?"

"I have eaten the Hana Hana no mi, I can sprout body parts like flowers from any surface." She held out her arm and several forearms grew from her elbow in one graceful motion. They then disappeared in a flutter of pink petals. "That includes eyes."

Usopp only hummed in response. That was… a very useful ability. A little terrifying, but… useful. 

"Robin, take us to the base." Luffy said. 

"Would it be alright for me to take us close enough to the ship that I can search it? We may be able to find what we need there and avoid the marines altogether." Robin suggested. 

Luffy silently contemplated that, and then nodded his consent. 

She began to lead them once more around the beach, and at one point she stopped and crossed her arms in the position from before. At this point the agent's ship was straight out from this section of the beach. The rest of the crew stopped with her, eyeing her inquisitively. Her eyes were closed. 

"There are two men on the ship," she murmured. "They're talking with a transponder snail."

Usopp stared at her, and then his eyes flitted to the ship. Could she really see that far away?

"The voice on the other side is the agent's." 

Usopp stiffened and saw the others do the same around him. The agent? The fact that he was talking right now somewhere, that Zoro was likely nearby on the other end of that call, made him uneasy.

"What are they saying?" Luffy asked. 

Robin's eyebrows furrowed in concentration, and Usopp pulled himself from his thoughts. He wanted to know, as well. 

"The first man asked if the Agent had made it to the Calm Belt. He says they've "successfully lured the pirates away." Our suspicions were correct."

"Calm Belt," Nami repeated softly. 

Usopp remembered when they'd briefly entered that horrible place. No wind, no escape from the thousands of sea kings filling the water. If the agent was headed there, was taking  _ Zoro  _ there, what chance did they have?

"The agent said not yet, but he's close." 

Close? Oh, God. 

"Whitebridge? The second man mentioned Whitebridge, the first one told him to shut up, it seems they're somewhat trying to be secretive in case the line's tapped - The agent's talking now. He's told them to carry out their orders and then continue on to meet him at the rendezvous point. That's all there is, the agent's hung up."

Robin uncrossed her arms and opened her eyes. "Whitebridge…"

"Do you know it?" Nami asked. 

"Yes, I've been there, it's another marine fortress. It's right next to the Calm Belt. About the same distance in the opposite direction from Alabasta."

Usopp couldn't help sucking in a breath. "Then - then we're six days behind!?" 

How could they find them when they were six days behind?

"What's this rendezvous point?" Nami asked. "Did they have any maps in the room? Clues?"

Once more, their new crewmate crossed her arms. "There's a map on the table in between them, a vague one of some area on the Calm Belt. No location is marked - except… Sabaody. Sabaody Archipelago is circled."

Nami seemed upset by this news. Robin continued to search. "It makes sense," she said softly. "The way up into Mariejois is located there, and that is where they wish to return your swordsman, is it not?"

Usopp did  _ not  _ like that. They couldn't let this agent get that far. If Mariejois was on the Red Line and this Sabaody Archipelago had a way up, then it must be at the half-way point of the Grand Line. They couldn't go that far. They couldn't let Zoro be gone for that long. 

"Then we need to go now to catch up!" Nami exclaimed. "I can get us back to Alabasta - Robin, can you help us to this Whitebridge place? If that's where the agent is now, it's our best bet." 

Luffy nodded his agreement. It seemed that they wouldn't be remaining on this island much longer. 

Usopp's crewmates all nodded as well, and then Nico Robin froze. "Oh, no," was all she managed before, out of nowhere, they were completely surrounded by marines. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mh, what a pinch.


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! I'm back! :)  
> Quick warning, I am not kind in this chapter.  
> Again, big thanks to BookCreature for beta reading!

The ship - his home, his place in the world - was gone. Zoro couldn't take his eyes off the horizon, couldn't stop the sobs wracking his body. He shook so badly that movement was near impossible. His face was wet with tears that wouldn't stop falling. 

Why? Why?

He couldn't understand. He'd done everything Luffy had wanted. He'd done everything his new family had wanted, why was their ship sailing away? Why were their backs to him like his other masters? Why did it feel like he was being strangled? 

He tried to breathe, but he didn't know why he tried. Little gasps and hiccups left his throat, which was sore and tight and shaky from sobbing. His chest hurt - he couldn't gulp down enough air and it felt like he was dying.

The Guard's hand was still threaded through his hair - he couldn't look away from the water, as much as the image of it sent tremors through him and made his fingers want to move up and claw at his own scalp and face. He'd thought he'd found a place.  _ He'd thought he'd found a place. _ Why? 

_ They're leaving you behind, they never wanted you.  _ The words stung and felt like acid dripping in his ears. He cried out and his voice cracked and he hated how broken it sounded. 

The Guard had called him  _ slave _ . That was what he was, though, wasn't it? He'd forgotten, caught up in what Luffy wanted and how he'd felt like a real person, felt alive and valued in his arms. 

He wasn't. He obviously wasn't, they were leaving him. They didn't need him holding them behind. He wasn't needed.

"They've left you behind." The Guard whispered. 

It felt like a physical assault. Zoro wished it was, he wished the pain would overwhelm him and leave him unconscious or dead or at least unthinking. Instead he only let out a series of sobs that winded him in and of themselves. It almost felt like laughter, but he couldn't breathe and it  _ hurt _ and there was that wetness on his cheeks that he hated, because he wasn't  _ supposed  _ to cry. 

"But your master wants you back."

The world stopped. The hand fisted in his hair meant nothing and the sea in front of them blended into a bright, blurred mass.

"That's right. You remember him?"

Of course Zoro remembered. He didn't move a single part of his body. His master. His master who'd left him? He would take him back?

Suddenly he had to breathe again and it came in the form of a painful cough and wheeze. The tears came again. 

Even closer to his ear, the Guard spoke again, making him shiver. "I'll take you back to him. He wants you."

_ He wants you.  _

Zoro was pulled up to his feet and allowed it even though his legs were shaking so badly that he was sure to collapse. 

He stared at the sea. Freedom.  _ Wanna be free with me? _ But Luffy was gone. Luffy didn't want him. He'd failed. The Guard pulled him to walk, and he did, but he turned his head back to look at the sea just once. He let it become a blur in his vision. It had no place for him, not if Luffy didn't want him. 

But… _master_ wanted him? 

The Guard pulled him to walk and he did, stumbling along next to him. The town passed them by, its sights and sounds and colors swirling in an incomprehensible blur.

"He wants me…?" Zoro croaked out.

"Yes."

Luffy didn't want him. The sea held no place for him anymore. He gave one last shivery sob. 

He didn't know what he'd done wrong, but he was sorry. To Luffy and to his crew, for whatever it was. 

His master wanted him, now. He couldn't mess that up again. 

_ Smile, moss-head. _

He smiled and forced any more tears back. 

He followed the Guard back through the town, and when they once again reached the little hut he allowed himself to be bound and pushed into the corner. 

_ I'll take you back to him. He wants you. _

Zoro closed his eyes, forcing out the pictures of Luffy and his friends. Someone else had been left behind. Someone else had wept and wailed brokenly at the coast, not Zoro. Zoro was his master's servant and always had been, and he needed to return to him. 

Now, it was time to sleep. Guard had told him to sleep. Guard was taking him back to his master. His master wanted him. 

His breath was still shuddering. The world didn't make sense. He closed his eyes tighter - Guard was taking him to Master. Master wanted him. 

He awoke sweating. Guard shook him awake and pulled him to stand and led him out the hut's door, holding his arm in a tight grip. Guard was taking him to Master. Master wanted him. 

Zoro complied. He tried to breathe, and that was all he could do while his legs stumbled along dumbly and then he tripped and Guard caught him and lowered him into the boat. He remembered jumping out of the boat. Why?

He stared down unseeingly and remained silent. The sun was warm. Hot, even, on his back. It was too much. He felt cold. He breathed in, and then out. Soon he looked up and could see the ocean. 

He could see that ship sailing away. No, no, it wasn't there. He looked down at the bottom of the boat as Guard untied his wrists and remained compliant when Guard worked a desert robe onto him and wrapped a covering over his head. The heat was a little more bearable, suddenly. He pulled Zoro to stand and Zoro stared at the ground as it became a blur while he walked, while Guard gently pulled him along by his arm. Guard was taking him to Master. Master wanted him.

Zoro remained calm, breathed in and out slowly, continued to smile. 

\- - -

The wretch was so wonderfully pliant, now. There was no dragging, no struggling, not even any need for binding him, which meant that he could travel through Nanohana openly. He was thankful for Alabastan clothing covering so much of a person's body and face - the wretch was quite well-disguised, and it was easy to lead him to a business where he could book passage on a civilian ship straight to his first stop on the way to deliver him to his owner - Whitebridge. He was glad for it being as much of a large town as it was a marine base - it was easy to find transportation there. 

The tickets he'd bought were for a ship leaving very, very soon, and that meant he just had to walk right up and board and they'd be off. 

That was exactly what they did, and the agent settled in for the three-day voyage. He had a small room with two beds - one he claimed, and the other he essentially shoved the wretch onto to make sure the idiot realized that it was where he should sleep. 

They remained in that room for much of the voyage. For most of this he ordered the wretch to lay in the bed and bundle the blankets around himself. "My friend gets very seasick," he told anyone from the staff who asked, and this satisfied them. For the nights, so that he could sleep in peace, he bound the wretch to his bed, and he never woke up to escape attempts or even the bloody wrists and ankles from before. The wretch was completely docile. On the third morning, Whitebridge was on the horizon. 

Whitebridge housed a bustling port city by the same name and several smaller towns around it. Like many islands, it was of a volcanic origin - the dormant volcano itself rose up in the center of the island. It was a spring island, and thus the climate as they approached was pleasant and not overbearing like the heat of Alabasta. 

There were actually two islands, referred to collectively as Whitebridge. One was the volcano, the one with the towns where the civilians lived. The other housed the marine fortress, which was where the agent was headed. 

Upon their landing, the agent led the wretch down the city's main street, which eventually broke off into several paths, one of which led to the bridge between the two islands. Identifying himself was a simple matter - when the cowardly soldier at the beginning of the bridge was given the vaguest form of identification and alerted that their full fortress was under his control if need be, he was immediately let in. 

The vice admiral running the place was easy to find - another rising marine with an inflated ego, and it seemed he'd been appointed to this position recently. He found no issue in speaking to him and demanding what he needed. 

Though the pompous fool muttered about government agents and how they always thought they could get whatever they wanted, he agreed easily and gave the agent what he'd requested - a ship capable of travelling through the Calm Belt and a crew capable of sailing it, to depart the next morning. 

For the night, the agent was given accommodations and the wretch was taken down into the base's prison.

\- - -

The Guard was gone now, and Zoro recognized that he'd been placed inside a cell. He wasn't afraid, not really. His hands were shackled behind him but this was familiar and he knew what to do. He remained still and quiet. 

A few hours passed, and then some men were peering into the bars at him. "So, he's the one?" One asked loudly. 

"Yeah, he's the one." Another responded. 

Zoro sat still and smiled. That was what he was supposed to do. 

"Ugh, the fuck is that smile?" The first one asked. "And what's up with this guy, that transporting him is completely upending our lives for the next month? I don't wanna go to the fuckin' Calm Belt. Shit's boring! I was finally getting popular with the ladies on this island, too!" 

Zoro ignored them, at least until one of them was unlocking the cell. "Let's see, huh? Maybe he can enlighten us. Ey, prisoner. The hell's so important about you?" He stepped inside the cell. Zoro kept his eyes trained on the ground. He didn't know how to answer that question.

"Oi! Answer me!" The man's hand was fisted in his hair. 

Sit still. Keep sitting still. 

Zoro said nothing. 

This resulted in his body being roughly thrown to the side by the hand gripping his hair, and he landed on his stomach. He couldn't use his hands, shackled as they were. He pushed down on the ground with his shoulders to get his knees up under him. 

A kick slammed into his stomach and he fell to his side. 

"Why's the government wanna transport you, huh? Why're those assholes makin' us do extra work?"

Wasn't his stomach already bruised? Zoro didn't know. But breathing was hard and came in quick spurts. He hunched his shoulders and did not try to sit up again. Another kick hit him under his ribs and he couldn't hold back a groan of pain and the shudder that ran through him. 

"You're not a wanted criminal, I'd remember that stupid green hair from the wanted posters." He hauled Zoro up to sit. "What do you make of 'im?" He asked his companion, holding Zoro's head up by his hair. 

Zoro did not fight the hold and remained limp as the companion entered the cell and approached him. 

"Yeah, I never saw him before, either. What's so important about him that he needs transported so urgently?"

Zoro only smiled up in their general direction - his vision was blurry and he still couldn't catch his breath. It was ragged and just a little wheezy.

"Oi, answer! What're you here for?" The companion slapped his face hard and he fell out of the grip on his hair with a grunt.

Zoro got his knees under him and kept his face downcast. "...going back to master," he murmured softly, and the men went quiet. 

After a long time, one of them huffed a laugh. "I see. You're some higher up's fuckin toy, huh? Tried to escape or somethin'? Those greedy fuckin' assholes, can't be patient in getting their shit back, can they?"

"Mh, wonder if they'll notice if we rough up their possession? Fuckers deserve to have someone fuck their shit up, screwing over our plans like this." The second one drawled. Zoro felt a boot press against the back of his head and he let it push his forehead into the ground. 

"Damn, that's sick. No fight at all. Do you even know  _ how  _ to fight?"

Zoro tensed, but forced himself to go limp again - fighting wasn't his place. His place was with his master. He was returning to his master. He… he  _ wanted  _ to return to his master. Of course he wouldn't  _ fight _ , why would he? He pushed down the pain that proving their words right caused deep inside him.

_ Luffy  _ had let him be free.  _ Luffy  _ had encouraged him to fight.  _ Luffy  _ \- he gritted his teeth. No, no. He was going back to master. He was obedient. He was going to be good, because that was how it was meant to be. 

"How far will he go?" The first one asked. 

"Mmh. Come here." The second demanded. Zoro blinked at the floor and saw the pair of feet not far in front of him. He pushed himself to kneel and then awkwardly shuffled on his knees to reach them. The cuffs holding his wrists clanked as he moved.

Master wanted him. Guard was taking him to Master. These people were helping Guard. 

His place was to obey. 

He shuffled to the second man, head down. 

"Mh, what is it those pompous bitches do? Hmm, ah! Ah, watch this." He said to his friend. "Wonder how they'll feel that a  _ commoner  _ used him! Hey, you. Slave. Go ahead and clean my shoes off."

Zoro felt a shock race through him. He hadn't heard that order in quite some time. Still, he lowered his head and lapped at the dirty shoes, trembling a little at having to keep himself from faceplanting into them without the use of his arms. The marine laughed. Zoro's face felt hot, his mouth felt dry. He hadn't had to bow with Luffy. His throat felt tight like it wanted him to sob. 

No. This was how it was meant to be. How he was meant to be. Luffy didn't want him. Luffy was temporary, and Zoro needed to forget him. Tears were in his eyes. He blinked them away as he once again pressed his tongue to the man's shoe. 

There was a difference between him and Luffy's crew. Luffy's crew were free and strong. Zoro was not. It had just taken them a while to realize it. Realize that he couldn't be like them, that he could only  _ try _ to be strong and free on someone else's orders. 

"Ha ha! Oh my god, no  _ way, _ wait a minute! Get him to do me!"

The shoe he was licking suddenly kicked upwards, slamming into his eye. He reared back a little with a soft whimper and blinked the eye hard. It  _ hurt.  _

"You heard him! Get over there and clean  _ his  _ shoes, too!" The first man ordered, mirth in his voice. 

Zoro stopped his blinking and kept his head down. He crawled to the second man. See, that was what he could do. Follow orders. Serve. He wasn't free. He couldn't be. 

_ Still, it had been nice to be treated like he could.  _

Tears were again coming, and a shaky, ragged breath pushed out of Zoro as he lowered his head to follow the order. The laughter of the two men echoed around the cell and he felt tiny. Dust and dirt from their shoes mixed with his saliva and his mouth felt dry. Another sudden breath pushed out and then a wet splotch appeared on the shoe below him. He blinked and felt more dripping down his cheeks. His shoulders tensed and began to tremble. 

"Ugh! What's that, is he  _ crying _ ?" There was a disgusted laugh in the voice. "Look at him! How pathetic!" 

The other man laughed, and the shoe disappeared from under his face and was suddenly stepping on his head, grinding his cheek into the cold stone floor. His vision blurred with tears. He tried to smile. 

The heel of the shoe ground into his temple. 

"Ey, I got an idea.  _ Lick the floor. _ " The foot's owner ordered. 

Zoro smiled but it felt like a grimace as he once again stuck his tongue out and licked the dirty floor below his cheek. It physically hurt in his chest. He couldn't move his head, the order was so  _ awkward  _ to obey. His tears were still falling. 

Still, he smiled. Serve. He was there to serve. 

The foot left his head but he hadn't been ordered to stop. He trembled and struggled to breathe through his tears as he continued to lick the floor. 

"Damn, how long will he keep going?" The first man's voice asked. 

"Bet he won't even stop."

Zoro cringed at that. The man was right, of course. 

The tears eventually left, to his relief. In their wake they left pain in his chest and in his head, though the latter may be from the earlier kick. It had been several long minutes of pressing his tongue to the dirty floor.

"Alright, stop, it's not entertaining anymore.  _ God,  _ it's just depressing." The second man eventually said, and a foot connected with Zoro's side. He fell heavily in that direction and curled around where he'd been kicked, coughing. 

His mouth was dry. He shivered - the floor was cold. 

"That was fun at first, but now it's boring." The first man said.

_ Boring. _

Zoro froze mid-attempt to get to his knees. His breath hitched, and his vision went blurry. Again, those cursed tears welled up in his eyes. He blinked rapidly, trying to breathe. It suddenly felt like his breath could only get in through a tiny gap, like his shaky breaths were not enough. 

_ Boring _ . 

No, he couldn't… he couldn't be boring. He had to  _ serve _ .  _ Boring _ meant being left behind.  _ Boring _ meant  _ useless. _

The second man suddenly laughed. "What's this? He's crying again, hah! Looks like he can't breathe! Oi, oi, look up at us, Slave. C'mon now."

Through his weak attempts at breath Zoro forced himself to sit up and look up at them. He tried to smile. 

"Oh my  _ God,  _ look at that! Guy's havin' a fuckin' panic attack! And he's still smilin'! Think it's 'cause of what you said?" He turned to his friend. 

Zoro's vision was blurry. He wheezed and tried to quiet the desperate noises.

"What, that he's  _ boring _ ?" The first asked. 

Zoro flinched as if struck. Still, he forced the corners of his mouth up, however much his scalp stung in humiliation and his cheeks hurt from the forced expression. He was light-headed. It was like he was choking.

"Oh my god. That  _ is  _ it." The first laughed loudly. "What, you scared we're bored of you? Scared you're not entertaining enough?" 

Zoro couldn't hold back the little cry he made when he breathed out, and when he breathed in again it was a big gulp of air that felt like nothing in his lungs. He turned his head away and closed his eyes tight. His chest rose and fell dramatically as he tried to breathe. 

"Hey! Did I say you could stop looking? Damn, even more pathetic than I thought. Boring,  _ and  _ he can't follow a simple order."

Zoro shuddered. He looked up at the two men once more.  _ Please, no. Please, let me be useful. I'm not boring, I won't be boring.  _

"Well it's not worth anything  _ now,  _ is it?" The second one sneered.

Zoro cried out brokenly at that. He hunched over and pressed his forehead to the stone brick floor. "I'm sorry. Please, I'm sorry," he whispered. 

Above him their laughter sounded out again. He curled himself smaller, pressed more against the floor. He wondered if he looked as small as he felt.

"Hah! Did we say you could talk?" The first asked. "Huh?"

Another kick, this time catching him in the neck. Zoro's shoulders hunched and he curled on his side, tucking his head down protectively. He coughed and breathed raggedly. Choppy gasps left his throat and he tasted blood. 

" _ God _ , you're loud. Quiet  _ down _ ." 

Zoro stopped his breathing and went still, completely silent. Pretty soon, his lungs urged him to breathe.  _ No, no, follow orders, be  _ quiet _.  _

"Holy shit, his face's goin' red. Think he'll kill himself?" The first asked.

"Hah. Doesn't matter. Look at 'im!  _ This  _ is a show! You ever seen someone so desperate?"

The seconds piled onto one another and Zoro remained silent and still other than the way his body shuddered, desperate for air. 

"Oi.  _ Breathe,  _ dumbass."

Zoro sucked in a breath, and it sent him into a coughing fit that racked his body. Another kick to his stomach, and then someone was crouching in front of him and the first man pulled him up by his hair. 

" _ Wow.  _ Didn't think you'd actually be able to hold it that long.  _ Impressive. _ "

_ Impressive.  _ Through his wheezes, Zoro smiled up at him. 

"Fuckin' hell. What's with that smile?" The hand in his hair shoved him away. 

"Can't you see? He's happy to serve us, isn't that right, slave?" The second man smirked down at him.

_ Yes. Yes, yes, I am, I'll do anything.  _ Zoro nodded his head. The movement hurt. His head hurt. He coughed weakly when he tried to breathe in. 

"Say it. Tell us how happy you are." The second man prompted. 

Zoro pushed himself to sit up on his knees. He smiled in their direction. His body hurt at the exertion of just kneeling. "I'm happy to serve you, I'll - I'll do anything you want… it's what I'm here for. I'm just - just a slave, I'm here for y -" he pushed back the part of himself that didn't want to say it. "For your pleasure. That's all."

" _ God,  _ that's  _ fucked. _ " The first man said. 

The second man crouched down in front of him. A warm hand was suddenly cupping his cheek. "And if I want to beat you until you take your last breath?" 

Zoro leaned into the hand. In his throat it hurt. "I am here to - to serve you…" he breathed raggedly. "S-so, please do."

The hand tilted his head up. The thumb rubbed back and forth over his cheek. It was gentle. Zoro closed the eye on that side and melted into the small comfort. 

The hand disappeared and he almost lost his balance and fell that way until it roughly smacked his cheek, leaving a painful sting. It then fisted into his hair and threw him to the ground. 

The second man laughed and Zoro heard receding footsteps. "I'm out of here. I'm just gonna stand guard."

Zoro watched him go, a plea for him to stay dying on his tongue.  _ Don't leave me, don't leave me useless, _ he wanted to beg. 

But they hadn't told him he could speak. 

When the first man left too, Zoro hunched his shoulders and brought his knees up close and tried to stop the tears that trailed down his cheeks. 

He must have fallen unconscious, because when he awoke it was to someone banging on the bars to his cell. "Up, prisoner. Get your ass up." 

Zoro winced at the loud banging, but he got his knees under him and stood obediently. The man unlocked his cell and approached him. He allowed him to grab his arm and he stumbled along beside him as he was led out of the cell and up some stairs, and then onto a ship, the deck of which Guard was standing on. The man pulled Zoro past him and then down several stairs once more and into another cell - this one with wooden floors. 

When he was left alone again he watched the man leave through the hallway and forced himself to keep smiling. He did not look around the cell or even move. He kneeled right where he was thrown and sat still. 

He could feel the ship rocking and hear the waves lapping against it outside. Eventually he ended up laying on the ground, eyes barely open and staring out of the cell. 

He didn't know how long he passed like that, but he knew that after a long, long time there were several men standing outside his cell.

"So  _ this  _ is the reason an entire crew has to work extra for a month?" An unfamiliar voice asked. 

"Yeah, but it's not all bad. Watch this." He recognized the voice of the first man from the night before. 

The door to the cell opened and the man entered. Zoro pushed himself to kneel. 

"Oi, look up at me." Zoro smiled up at him. 

"What are you here for, hm?"

"To serve," Zoro answered, his voice scratchy. 

"And what would you do for me?"

Zoro shuffled a bit closer. He remembered the hand on his cheek from the night before. Perhaps. Perhaps if he was good.

"Anything," he whispered. 

There was a laugh. "Stand up." The man ordered, and Zoro did. 

Then suddenly there was a fist slamming into his face and he stumbled to the side, almost falling but catching himself. He stood up once again. Another punch hooked into his already bruised stomach and he hunched over, legs almost giving out. He coughed hard, winded, and sucked in several weak breaths. His head spun. 

"Beg for it. Beg for me to keep beating you."

Zoro made a soft cry without thinking. He breathed shakily and as calmly as he could. He lifted his head and smiled. "Hit me again. Please," 

The man did, this time another hook to his face that set Zoro's head spinning. "Thank me for it," he heard as he nearly fell. 

"Thank - " he coughed, shoulders shuddering. "Thank you."

A new man, one he didn't recognize, entered the room.

The first man moved aside and this new man's fist moved in a blur and then there was a crack and Zoro's nose was bleeding. He forced the smile on his face and it felt like that and his continued standing were all he could manage. 

The first man cupped his face gently, as his friend had the night before. Zoro closed his eyes. "Where are your manners?"

Zoro's eyes snapped open and looked towards the one who'd just punched him. "Thank you," his voice cracked. 

The man laughed. "Holy  _ shit. _ Is this alright with that agent?"

"Well, what did he tell us to do? He said his orders are to deliver the captive alive. He's still alive, isn't he?" The fingers holding his face tightened their grip until it was painful. "Oi, did I say you could stop begging?"

Zoro's breath hitched a little. Useful. He was useful. "Please… please hurt me."

It wasn't long until the cell was crowded with those men taking turns bruising his chest and stomach and face. He did not fight them. It became too hard to stand, so eventually one held him up by looping his arms under his shoulders.

"Th-thank you, thank you so much, p-please, hit me again." He wheezed after one of them slapped him across the face. He tried to stand on his own but was limp in the arms behind him.

They seemed to become disinterested in that at some point, and dropped Zoro, where he kneeled and coughed blood onto the floor. He tried to wipe his bloody nose on his shoulder. 

There was suddenly someone crouching in front of him. "How much further will he go?" A hand took his chin, and its thumb brushed over his lower lip. 

His first master had been the last person to do that. His eyes went a little wide. He remembered the hands, and how he'd panicked and wished to be away from them - no. No, he hadn't minded them. He'd never minded them, until he was with Luffy and realized that they were - no. No. He had to forget Luffy. He hadn't minded. He didn't mind. He didn't. 

He'd already reared away a little bit. 

"Oh, did I find something you  _ don't _ wanna do? Slave?"

There was the sound of a zipper. And of a belt unbuckling. Zoro had - Zoro had heard such sounds before. With his third master. 

He couldn't help the little flinch and the cry he let out.  _ No, no, no _ . He couldn't - he couldn't do it. He couldn't let it happen. Without his input his ragged and weak breaths turned quick and panicked. He didn't want to be touched. He didn't want to be used like that again. He remembered how Luffy had found him and had whisked him away from this same treatment before. He remembered how Luffy's crew had never expected this, how they'd never forced him to bow to them or take their blows or  _ pleasure them like this _ . 

He did not want this. He did not want to be used like this. All he could do, though, was whimper and pull just a little at his shackles. All he could do was fall off his knees and try to scrabble away on his back. 

"Aw, come  _ on _ dude, that's  _ gross. _ " One of the men in the room said. 

"Who cares? It's  _ his  _ fault we're away from all the ladies on Whitebridge. It's the  _ least  _ he can do. And who's to stop us?" He stepped closer and a hand was in Zoro's hair again, pulling him to kneel as if his little retreat had been nothing and dragging him very close in front of him. Pulling  _ hard.  _

Or maybe it felt like it was pulling hard because Zoro was pulling away. Weakly, yes. But he was pulling away. His trembling legs once again squirmed out from under him and kicked weakly at the floor. Through blurred vision he saw what he was being pulled towards, what was in store for him if he gave up.

Another man was suddenly behind him, creeping his hands up under his shirt, up his sides and to his chest. Zoro squirmed, but it was to no avail - the hands did not stop as they touched him, restrained him, forced him. The hand in his hair pulled insistently, and it stung when it pulled hard enough that some of his hair definitely came out. One was creeping down to the hem of his pants. It slipped underneath and Zoro bucked away from it with a desperate cry.

"No!" He whimpered, his voice quiet and pathetic.

"Oi, slave, are you  _ denying _ them what they want?" The first man's voice asked from somewhere. "I thought you wanted to be useful? Are you a  _ liar _ ?" 

Zoro froze, stiff. He stopped pulling back, but the hand could not pull him forward, either. His eyes flitted about wildly and landed on the first man, who was approaching him. He went limp in the holds on him, the hand in his hair pulling him right into the man's crotch and the exposed organ there, shoving his face against it, and the hands on his body pulling his pants down enough to expose him. Zoro felt sick. 

"Wait a minute. If this slave doesn't want it, we can leave him alone. Why should we want him if he's going to be useless?"

The hand holding his hair let go, and the one holding his pants retracted from them while the one exploring his chest pulled away. Zoro didn't have the sense to scoot out from between them both. He couldn't suck in a breath. His cheeks were red with humiliation.

_ Useless. _

"If he doesn't want to be subservient, he can stay here  _ alone _ ."

_ Alone.  _

The man in front of him stepped back. Zoro saw him fixing his clothing, and a little, cracked cry left his throat.  _ No _ .  _ Don't, don't do that.  _ The man behind him stood, didn't even bother to move Zoro's clothing to properly cover him.  _ No, no. No. Don't leave me _ . He didn't want to be alone. Being alone was - it was worse than obeying. Obeying meant being needed. Zoro needed to be needed. 

On his knees, he shuffled forward. "No, no, no, please. Please. I'll. I'll do it. D-do what you want. Please."

He'd almost reached where that hand had been pulling him when the same hand smacked into his cheek and forced him away. The man he'd weakly pursued tutted disapprovingly. Zoro wanted to throw himself at his feet and beg and plead, no matter how much the idea of begging for  _ that  _ made him want to throw up or bite his tongue until he bled out.

"No, no. He's  _ right _ . I don't  _ want  _ you if you're not going to give your all." The one who had held his hair was saying. 

Zoro looked up at him, desperate. "I  _ am _ , I'm sorry, I'll do anything, I  _ will _ , don't - don't  _ leave _ ." He begged weakly. He'd take the hands on him, he'd take the violated feeling, if only it meant he was wanted. " _ Please! _ " 

The man turned and exited the cell anyway. Zoro felt the sting of tears in his eyes. " _ Please. _ "

He looked to the other man, who wasn't looking at him and was instead headed for the door as well. " _ Please. _ " He tried, his voice heartbroken. It was to no avail. 

The first man dealt a kick to his head. "Shut up. Stop talking, they're done with you. You've  _ failed. _ "

Zoro cried out weakly and fell to the ground. He tried to get up, but the foot stepped down on his back and forced him to stay down. He gasped shallowly for breath but again he felt like he was dying. 

"Don't try to get up."  _ Don't try to get what you don't deserve. _

The foot left. Zoro remained on the ground, sniffling and crying like a child. Like some worthless wretch.  _ Please come back.  _

"Where's that smile?" The first man asked.

He worked the corners of his mouth up as his tears fell. His body was tense and trembling but he did not try to rise as the men left the room, their backs receding down the hallway and leaving him alone in silence. 

Even after they were gone, he did not move. He kept smiling. Sobs wracked his body and eventually the tears stopped but left him gasping desperately, an empty, desperate smile on his face in the hopes that someone, anyone might return. 

Of course, no one did. It was cold and quiet and in that cell he felt so small and alone, face-down with his arms tied back and a plea still on his tongue.

Why had he resisted?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ouch.


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey. This chapter is not nice. Mind the warning tags, and if you wanna skip the worst of it, it begins at "Zoro's heart picked up its pace," and ends at "The first man crouched over him."

Zoro didn't know how long it had been. There was perfect silence and near-perfect darkness, and as the hours passed he saw no other living soul. His tears had long since dried out. He remained on his stomach, trying to smile at the barred door just in case someone might come to him. 

At some point, he drifted off, and when he awoke his body was near-immobile. His muscles were all horribly sore, and the bruises from the beating he'd taken were spanning much of his body. His arms, pulled behind him, hurt at the shoulders and had become quite numb. His neck ached from the position he'd lain in, on his stomach with his head turned so that his chin was on the floor. He forced himself to move, ignoring the fire in his limbs so that he could curl up and try to help the pain in his neck abate. It was in this shuffling that he saw the plate that sat by the door and saw the food that sat upon it. 

His stomach growled. He pushed himself up to his knees even though the muscles in his abdomen protested the movement. and shuffled over to the plate. His movements were slow and painstaking, and his knees were scratched up from how he'd been on them so much in the past few days. They stung as he pulled himself along. 

When he reached the plate, he stopped. His stomach growled again, more insistently - he realized he hadn't been fed since he and the Guard had been on that other ship together. He looked outside the cell a moment - no one was around. 

He looked down at the food again - there was some kind of meat, and now that he was close he could smell it. His mouth watered. There were also mashed potatoes, it seemed, and some green beans laid on the side. 

He didn't have the use of his hands. His abdomen again protested when he leaned down so that he could eat, but he saw no other way. 

It was a struggle, eating without his hands. He worked bites off the meat - something like chicken, he decided - and chewed slowly. He closed his eyes. It had long since lost its warmth, but the taste was good.

_Cook's was better._

Zoro shook his head. No. No. It was not the time. He swallowed, leaned down again and took another bite. He savored the meal and licked the plate clean, his hunger gone now. 

He retreated away from the door, then, and found the least uncomfortable position he could on the wooden floor. 

And then, once more, he lay still and tried to keep smiling. 

No one came. When Zoro fell asleep he woke up once more to food set just inside the cell.

So, he ate and slept and wished that he could see someone, _anyone_. Guilt ate into him. If he'd just given them what they wanted, maybe he'd be useful right now. Maybe he wouldn't even be alone. 

There was nothing to do in the quiet darkness except painstakingly switch positions and try not to think about Luffy's crew or the way he'd failed those men. He stared at the wall, eyes dull. One could only sleep so much. 

At some point Zoro found that if he curled up in the corner of the room with his back to the walls, he could almost convince himself that someone was laying there with him. 

And that was where he currently was, pressed into the corner and wishing his arms weren't shackled behind him because they got in the way of his contact with the wall. 

He closed his eyes and in his mind it was Luffy's warmth behind him, and he could almost smell the sea on him and hear the little giggle he made when he was happy - Zoro snapped his eyes open. No. He tried to bring his legs up closer to his chest. Again, his eyes drifted shut. This time, Long-Nose was splayed out beside him, his back against Zoro's. He could almost hear the way he breathed when he slept. 

He snapped his eyes open again. The wall was cold and stiff and unmoving. He shivered, and then the tears were in his eyes again. 

He cried, turning his head so a part of his face pressed into the floor. 

The silence continued. When Zoro slept he woke up tired. He stopped going to the wall - several times in a row it had only ended in him curling around himself and quietly sobbing. 

Once, he heard footsteps in the hallway outside the cell. He jolted and pushed to his knees, only to hear them stop short and then recede. A choked feeling caught in his throat and he stared at the door for what felt like hours afterwards, 

After that, the food stopped. Zoro didn't notice at first - he had no frame of reference for the passage of time but after closing his tired eyes and waking up several more times, he realized how hungry he was getting. It ached in his stomach and just when he thought he could ignore it his stomach made a noise to remind him he needed to eat. 

However, he had another, more important concern. They'd left him alone, and now did not see the need to feed him. He - he deserved it - he'd refused the demands of the people he was meant to serve - but the knowledge that they thought him as disgraceful as he did hurt. 

The hunger continued to get worse as the hours passed. He wedged himself in the corner again despite his earlier decision not to, desperate for the touch of _something_. For a few moments he allowed the fantasy of laying on the floor of Luffy's ship with Nami leaning on his back to play out in his head. He heard her voice for just a moment, and then his eyes snapped open and he scooted away from the corner and cried again. 

He couldn't stop crying. The little sobs that kept tearing from his throat made him sick. There were no tears anymore, just trembling and absolute helplessness. "I'm sorry," he whispered to no one, voice cracked and shaky. "Come back, please come back." 

The quiet swallowed up his plea and the pressure it forced onto his ears seemed to double. His stomach growled.

Alone. Cold. Hungry. Desperate. All because he would not obey. Eventually, he slept again. It was dark and dreamless and he awoke even more tired. 

This time, there was a plate of food once more. When Zoro's eyes landed on it his stomach gave a particularly loud growl and felt as if he were caving inward on himself. He shuffled to the plate. He didn't even care to look at what was on it, only lowered his head to eat, hunger driving him on. 

It was then that he heard footsteps approaching. He froze, food still untouched. He quickly sat up straight on his knees, ignoring the spell of dizziness that hit him with the action. His stomach growled. 

The first man was standing outside the cell. He crouched down to be closer to Zoro's level and stuck his hand through the bars. Zoro forgot the food. He shuffled as fast as he could, scraping his knees open as he clumsily moved. He reached the bars and the hand was still there, and he pressed his face into it. 

Warmth. The hand cupped his face and it was gentle. Zoro almost began to cry again.

The hand retracted, and Zoro pressed his forehead to the bars in an attempt to follow it. He made a pathetic, desperate sound that had him hating himself when the hand fully left him, but then the cell door was opening and the man was entering. Zoro half-crawled to him. 

"I'm sorry! Please, please stay. Please. I'll obey, I'll do anything." He begged, pressing his head to the ground. 

"Is that so?" The man sneered, and at the tone Zoro stiffened. 

"Yes… I'll… I'll pleasure you… anything you want." Zoro murmured. 

The man pulled away, and Zoro panicked momentarily. No, no, he couldn't be left again. But the man simply yelled out the door of the cell. "Oi! E's ready to be good!" And then there were several sets of footsteps approaching him. 

Three marines entered the room. One was the second man, the next was the man who had pulled Zoro's hair before, and the last was the one who'd tried to pull his clothing off. Zoro saw the one who'd pulled his hair's eyes for just a moment, and he shivered. 

That man approached him first. "Is that so?" He asked, approaching Zoro and stopping quite close, so close that Zoro felt boxed in by him. His hands trembled in their bonds. 

"You know what it is I want." The man ordered. 

Zoro's heart picked up its pace. It was hard to breathe and only became harder when the man's hands worked at his fly and unbuttoned his pants and Zoro soon found himself kneeling right in front of it, frozen. 

The hand grabbed his hair and yanked him forwards. He scrunched his eyes shut and choked back a sob. His stomach growled again. 

_Push it back. Push it back. They won't want you_. 

But it was so much easier to think about than to do. _Just obey_ , he'd been telling himself, but it was more than that when it felt like a death sentence to keep his eyes shut tight and open his mouth. 

He didn't have to do the work long. He didn't know if it was cruel or a mercy but soon hands were gripping his head and all he had to do was kneel and choke and try not to die. 

"Open your eyes," the man ordered, and Zoro opened them despite the jostling his head was going through. His vision was filled with the man's hips slamming forwards and it was too much, so much so that tears filled his eyes and his sight went fuzzy and he went completely limp in the hold, pushing back his panicked cries because he didn't have enough strength or breath in him to manage them.

_They'll want you. You're being good. You want this._

The wood under his knees was rough and hurt, burned, even. He couldn't catch a breath around both the source of his violation and the thickness in his throat. He was panicking. Thin breaths sucked in through his nose. They were worthless. He was drowning. He wanted to vomit. 

The fingers tightened and the hips in front of him pressed too close to his face. 

The fingers. The fingers were warm. They held his head tightly, but they were touching him. Someone real was touching him willingly. _Serving,_ he told himself. _You're serving. You're wanted._

Suddenly, the blockage in his mouth was gone. He coughed and wheezed for breath and for that he earned a kick and the man shoved his face into the ground. 

"Lick it up."

It tasted foul. 

A hand tousled his hair. "Good boy." 

Zoro would do it a million times over just for that, he told himself. The part of him that wanted to throw up shrank backwards. He smothered it in the warmth that had blossomed in his chest. 

He was still crying. 

Despite it, he smiled up at the man and there was a short laugh before he was grabbed by someone else and pushed to stand against the wall. The simple shirt and pants he was wearing were torn off and a body was pressing against his back, pushing him against the cold wall. 

Zoro's legs trembled under him. He didn't have the strength to stand. 

But there was that warmth pressed against his back. Another person. A solid and real person who wanted him enough to press against him like this. It was enough to make him ignore the hands that touched him and the fingers that roughly shoved into his mouth.

It was enough to ignore the pain that soon followed, though Zoro heard his voice scream in panic. He brought in weak, erratic little breaths. The man behind him panted in his ear and vaguely he registered that he was shuddering with each breath that hit his neck. 

But there was a body pressed against his. There were arms and they were _restraining him and trapping him_ \- No. _No._ They were holding him. He stared unseeingly to the side where his cheek remained pressed against the wall. The movement behind him jostled his body, but it was as if he was seeing it from elsewhere. All he felt was the warmth behind him because someone wanted him. 

Someone wanted him. 

He ignored the fact that he was crying, that each movement forced a wail from his throat, that the wooden wall was scratching and splintering his exposed flesh, which was sweaty and clammy and shuddering. He ignored how his arms were pressed between their bodies and pulled and jostled with each movement. He ignored the fact that he still couldn't breathe.

He didn't think at all when the man finished and dropped him to the ground. 

He ignored the way his crying intensified when he was once more grabbed from the floor and positioned.

He was, however, relieved when the crying stopped, when he was able to remain quiet and simply take it. He smiled up at the first man, whose blurry form was over him and whose hands were around his neck one moment and tenderly holding his face the next.

Desperately, he leaned into that touch. 

By the time the fourth person was holding him, he had no energy for any movement. His knees scraped against the floor and his chest laid limp against the ground. Sweat had soaked through his hair and his limbs were sticky. 

When they'd all finished with him he laid on the ground, naked and surrounded by the filth they'd left covering him. 

The first man crouched over him. "You were useful." He murmured. 

Zoro couldn't respond, could only do his best to breathe and smile.

A hand took his cheek, touch feather-light and so gentle that Zoro wanted to feel lost in it forever. "Now, where are your manners?"

Zoro forced in a weak breath. "Th -" a weak cough racked his shoulders. "Thank you," he wheezed. 

"Good." The touch left his cheek and Zoro found himself vainly attempting to lift his head and feel it for just a little longer. 

The four men left. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That was heavy, huh.


	21. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys are having an alright holiday season.   
> Again thank u to BookCreature :)

Sanji finished binding the second marine to the Merry's mast and stood back with a sigh. He dusted his hands off and glanced toward the island they were anchored at. The crew had left a half an hour ago, and likely wouldn't be back for a while. 

He was concerned. He wanted to think that the marines were simply on a patrol and saw the ship by chance, but when he'd hidden himself and watched them, waiting to ambush them, their actions had suggested they'd already known the ship was there. Of course, he knew the island had been expecting them. That agent's ship had led them here, and their plan was obviously to hold them back as long as possible. He knew his crew could hold their own, especially if the rest of the marines here were as unimpressive as the ones he'd just defeated and bound. But still, any setbacks right now would be major. Every moment between now and when they got Zoro back safely was crucial. 

Minutes ticked by and one of the marines began to stir. Sanji crouched down to him. "Oi." He muttered. 

The marine's eyes opened lazily and then fluttered as he stiffened and tried to sit up straight to no avail. He pulled on the ropes and looked around. 

"H-hey-! Let me go, pirate!" His voice was trembling. This one had been the easier one to kick down - Sanji had barely had to put any force behind his kick. 

"Why should I? You attacked my ship, shitty bastard." He stood up and stepped back away from the marine. 

Nerves wanted to make his hands and voice shake - he'd been holding in a lot recently for the sake of his crew's already dampened emotions. He gave his fingers something to do in producing and lighting a cigarette. He was running out, and that was saying something - he'd always made sure he had a good supply of them. Recent events, however, had caused him to seriously reduce that supply. He took a long drag and then blew the smoke out. 

The marine cowered against the mast. 

"We're not here for a fight, marine. You knew our crew was coming, right? And I bet your orders were to take our ship away somehow. Tell me. What were the plans for those of us who entered the island?"

The marine gulped and then shook his head so quickly Sanji wondered how he didn't get dizzy. 

"I'm not playing around. Tell me, or you won't like what happens." He fixed the man with his best glare. 

He didn't really know what he'd do if the guy didn't answer, but judging by the terrified squeak the idiot made, that didn't matter. 

"I-i-! C-commodore Ema ordered an a-ambush! D-don't kill me!!"

Why the hell was this guy a marine? He looked about ready to piss his pants. He also didn't look much older than sixteen. Perhaps a new recruit? Why the hell was a new recruit sent out for a mission like this?

It was then that the second marine started to squirm, and he seemed much less fearful of Sanji's presence than the first. He glared. 

"Your friend tells me you've planned an ambush on my friends." Sanji raised an eyebrow at him.

His brow furrowed and he frowned. He turned his glare on his partner. "Why did you  _ tell  _ him!?" 

Sanji blinked. These two were either good actors or absolute idiots. 

The marine realised his mistake. "Shit!"

Sanji stared at them a moment. Then, he sighed. 

So they had likely been attacked. That didn't necessarily mean that they'd be caught, but he supposed if they weren't back soon he ought to act. 

Noon came and went, and that marked three hours since he'd heard from his crew. They hadn't been meant to stay that long. 

He got up from his seat on the Merry's steps and went to his captives. "Alright. Where's your base at?" He asked them, and the coward stiffened while the dumbass glared. 

"We aren't telling you!"

Sanji approached them and untied the coward. He wrenched him to stand up and the stupid one began to struggle. "Hey! Put him down, pirate!"

Sanji rolled his eyes and used the rope to tie the coward's hands in front of him. 

"Look, I won't hurt you as long as you lead me to your base, or whatever ship your crew is here on. If you don't… you'll regret it… and so will your friend. 

The coward's eyes went wide. He trembled and looked to his friend, who looked absolutely livid. "Don't let him manipulate you!"

Sanji raised an eyebrow. "You sure you want that? I can do much worse than that broken rib of yours."

The coward nodded. "O-okay! Okay! I-i'll do it, don't hurt him!"

"No!" The idiot yelled. 

The coward jumped. "I'm sorry, I want to keep you safe!" 

Sanji would have found it endearing if he wasn't nervous, pissed, and impatient as all hell. 

"Shut up." He shoved the coward to the side and knelt to get the idiot up. He wasn't leaving one of them alone on the ship, even tied up. 

Just as he undid the last of the bonds and went to tie the idiot's wrists, he saw bound arms loop over his head and then the coward was pulling back on his neck. The idiot, now untied, swung a punch at Sanji's face and it hit. 

Sanji gasped in pain. "Bastards!" He yelled, and he jammed an elbow back into the coward's ribs. When his arms went limp as he gasped in pain, Sanji grabbed them and pulled them off his neck. He dodged another swing from the dumbass, then kicked up and caught him in the chin, knocking him out once more.

He then whirled on the coward. "Don't fucking struggle." He hissed, stepping on his chest where he'd fallen to the ground. 

The coward was breathing heavily, obviously terrified. Sanji couldn't bring himself to give a shit. 

He tied the dumbass up and threw him over his shoulder. He grabbed the coward by the arm. "Take me to your base and I won't hurt you any further." He grumbled, and the coward nodded quickly, his fight now gone. 

Sanji allowed the coward to lead him through a twisting trail in the thick tropical forest and to a small marine facility that sat next to a little cove set far into the island. 

"H-here… th-that's it…"

Sanji slung the still-unconscious dumbass off his shoulder and set him against a tree. He let go of the coward's arm and shoved him to sit next to his friend. The young man collapsed easily, his legs shaking, and stared at Sanji with poorly masked fear in his eyes. 

Sanji bound him and the dumbass to the tree just as he had the mast, and then for good measure he ripped off a piece of the coward's uniform and gagged him with it. He did the same for the dumbass. 

Then, he stood and turned to face the marine base. 

"In there, huh?" He muttered, and walked away from the two men. 

The base was circular and tall, though not so tall that it stuck out above the thick canopy of the forest. From what Sanji could tell, the main entrance was by the docks, and the cove that the base sat beside was, on his side, down a sheer drop of perhaps twenty feet. He made his way around it as it sloped down to lower ground. There were stone steps down to the docks, and stone steps up to the base's main entrance. 

Sanji took neither staircase and instead slipped around the building, looking for a more discreet entrance. He soon saw it, a balcony fifteen feet off the ground. 

He climbed up a nearby tree and shimmied out on one branch until he could leap easily onto the balcony. Its door was unlocked, and Sanji let himself into the hallway behind it. Now to find his nakama, if they were here. 

He was just wondering if a marine uniform would help him when he heard footsteps echoing down the corridor and jumped. He slipped into a room as silently as possible and waited for the footsteps to pass. He breathed in a sigh of relief. The room he was in, judging by his blind feeling around, was a broom closet. Not very useful. 

He exited it and began his search for a staircase. 

He passed several offices and then found his way to a stairwell on the other side of the building. It took up one half of the hallway as it descended down to the next floor. Sanji listened for movement, and, hearing none, followed it down. 

\- - -

Vivi was nervous. The marines had caught them - Luffy's reflexes hadn't been fast enough before someone had entrapped him in a seastone net and Robin had quickly met the same fate. 

There were just too many of them for the rest of them, even when she got out her peacock slashers and Nami tried to use her clima tact and Usopp used his slingshot. Chopper had tried to transform to take them on, but another seastone net had quickly taken him as well. This ambush had been well-planned. 

So, here they were, all sitting in a cell together, waiting for… well, Vivi didn't know. 

She hoped no one recognized her. If they did, she may not be able to return to her country. She supposed it'd be alright - she had a place to stay with these pirates, but the idea of her country shunning her for running away filled her with dread. 

Luffy had pounded at the bars of the cell even as the seastone sapped his strength. 

The marines seemed quite lively, here. When they'd successfully caught them all, they'd whooped and cheered and high fived each other, and many had looked very genuinely happy. 

Normally Vivi wasn't one to want smother people's happiness, but… she'd really like out of here before they could waste any more time. They needed to get to Zoro. Quickly. 

They'd only been in the cell an hour or two when the marines guarding them called out in sudden pain and a familiar face met theirs through the bars. 

"Sanji!" Luffy yelled. Sanji hurriedly shushed him and produced a key from somewhere - it was dark and Vivi couldn't see where. He began to open the door's lock, but footsteps at the end of the hall made him freeze. 

"Shit." He muttered. 

"So the Straw Hats do have an eighth member. We were told that there were just the seven of you." A voice called from where Vivi couldn't see. 

Sanji tapped his toe against the ground, obviously ready for a confrontation. "I'd like to request that you let us go. We really don't have time to be languishing in a marine prison."

"Right, I understand your situation. Your criminal of a crewmate's been shipped off for his just punishment." The voice said. 

Sanji stiffened, and one more, louder tap of his toe against the stone floor sounded out before he was launching himself forwards and out of Vivi's line of sight. She and her crewmates leaned against the bars to better see out.

Sanji quickly shot back into view, presumably having had his attack thrown off. A man holding a hammer stepped into view. 

"You that commodore? What was it they said? Ella?" Sanji asked, hands in his pockets and shoulders relaxed. 

"Commodore Ema. Who the hell told you? Have you harmed my men?" 

"Perhaps I have." Sanji drawled. "What would you do about that?"

The man reared back and his large hammer swept forward. Sanji jumped nimbly out of the way and kicked off the wall in order to deliver a kick to the man's face, which made him stumble back just a little. 

"You fiend!" The commodore yelled, and again, his hammer swung, this time much faster. Sanji hardly had time or space to dodge in the little corridor. 

They continued to swing at one another until the commodore pulled out another hammer from under his coat. 

"You won't be leaving this place. My men are the happiest they've been having caught you pirates, and I'm not letting you take that away."

Their movements were a blur after that. For holding such heavy weapons, the commodore was fast. They stopped after a while, panting and glaring at one another. Sanji wasn't doing as well as Vivi had hoped - he couldn't become a blur around his enemy and unleash kicks from all directions - the hall outside was only so large - and it was seriously impeding his fighting. 

Sanji launched at the commodore and there was a thud when his kick made contact with a swing of one of the heavy mallets. "SHIT!" Sanji swore, and Vivi winced. 

"SANJI!!" Several of her nakama yelled, luffy the loudest. 

Sanji stumbled backwards, his bad leg wobbling precariously. His breathing became labored as he tried to calm it. He reached a hand out to lean against the wall, an eye on the commodore. 

Both hammers swung at once and Sanji wobbled out of the way with a grunt, leg trembling as he went to lean on the bars of their cell, but he didn't make it because one of the hammers happened to slam hard into his hand and there was a sickening crack when it was sandwiched between heavy metal and the wall. 

Sanji cried out in pain this time and pulled his hand to his chest, a slew of curses leaving his mouth. He looked up at the commodore, eyes a venomous glare even as his shoulders shuddered. 

He swayed on his feet for a moment, and then shot forwards even when his bad leg stalled. "Anti-manner kick course!" He hissed, and in a feat of strength he kicked the commodore so hard he slammed into the ceiling and fell to the floor, limp. Sanji dropped to his knees.

"Fuck, shit, shit, shit…" he swore. 

Nami was closest to him. "Sanji-kun! The keys! We need to get out!" She yelled to him, and he managed a weak nod and tossed her the keyring he'd had with him. 

In a short amount of time all of them were out of the cell and unshackled. Luffy picked Sanji up and hoisted him onto his back without a word. Sanji fought it for a moment, but then collapsed into his back and tried to breathe through the pain in his shin and hand.

Luffy ran ahead, so Vivi followed. Some marines tried to block their path, but Luffy sent out sweeping attacks with his arms and legs and Nico Robin, as much as Vivi didn't want to admit it, was a huge help as she restrained their attackers. 

They ran through the forest and out to the beach near where Merry was anchored. 

Soon, they were on board. Chopper took Sanji to the girls'-room-turned-infirmary and the rest of them focused on setting sail. Nico Robin stood next to Nami on the railing outside the galley, the two talking quietly as the redhead called out directions. 

Vivi didn't trust her, not at all. But it was because of her that they now knew where Zoro was. And she had helped them escape. Begrudgingly, she stopped her glaring and dropped her thoughts about the woman, for now. 

\- - -

The trip was supposed to take six days, but even Nami, exemplary navigator as she was, couldn't speed up the ship's progress through a Grand Line storm. It held them up for two entire days, and every time Nami felt she had their bearings they seemed to become turned around in the surging water. By the time they passed by Alabasta, it had taken five days - two more than the three it'd taken to get to the jungle island. The storm had finally abated, likely driven off by Alabasta's warm climate zone. 

The sand country was a flat line on the horizon and Vivi was staring at it, worry in her eyes. Nami joined her by the railing. "Hey." 

Vivi jumped, apparently not having heard her approach. "N-nami! Hi," she managed. 

"Something bothering you?" Nami asked. 

Vivi looked to the side, apparently unwilling to share. 

"Vivi?" She pushed. 

"I- it's- it's selfish." Vivi turned away from her, hunching her shoulders a little. 

Nami put a hand on her shoulder. "It's okay to be a little selfish. If it's bothering you it deserves to come out."

Vivi leaned towards the hand. She hesitated, and then began. "I… I miss home… I miss Carue, and Papa and Kohza… I hardly got to see them recover… I've been gone for years and finally saved my country… and I'm not even there…

"But I don't know how I can think any of this! Not when Zoro's-" she stopped herself. 

"It's okay, Vivi. Everything… everything's a lot right now. Alabasta's your treasure, right? It'd be wrong if you didn't miss that. It doesn't mean you don't care for Zoro, does it?" Vivi didn't respond. "Vivi, we'll get him back. And then we'll take you home, okay? You're already doing so much, helping us after everything that's happened in your country. Worrying about things is nothing to be ashamed of."

She wrapped her arm over Vivi's shoulder and Vivi leaned into her. Together, they watched Alabasta pass them by and didn't move until it vanished behind them. 

\- - -

The presence of a prisoner on a marine ship was no rare occasion. The presence of a prisoner that would not fight back, however, was a novelty for some of the more daring marines, who some may call cruel.

The prisoner was an escaped slave who, along with his agent escort, needed to be taken to Sabaody. The sailing was all to be done in the Calm Belt, and thus there was little work to be done on the ship. The marines had quite a bit of time for leisure. 

After four of them first descended down to the cell with the intention of seeing what they could get away with, the attention of several others quickly turned to the slave in the brig, and a portion of the marines soon learned how utterly pliant he was, whether by seeing it firsthand or hearing it from others. 

The sudden assignment had pulled them out of their usual schedules and their plans for the next month, and thus many of them were itching for someone to take their frustrations out on. Most didn't even have an interest in men, but a hole was a hole in most of their eyes. The general consensus seemed to be that everyone who knew was doing it and enjoying it and that the captive didn't struggle and didn't try to deny them what they wanted. 

No one had told the captain of the ship or any of the more upstanding members of the crew, and no one had told the agent, either, though there were whispers that he eyed men with distaste when they descended the steps to the brig. Evidently, he didn't care - his only orders were that the captive be in a healthy enough condition to work upon their arrival at their destination. This put no damper on most of their plans, though it did stifle the wishes of some of the braver ones, at least at first.

Apparently, more than those first four had witnessed the captive's subservient nature on the first few nights on the ship. The captive was rumored to take anything they dished out, and as the days wore on, it seemed that they were getting more and more rough with him, to the point where if one got too close to the brig, noises could be heard from its depths. 

Still, nothing was done. It was unclear whether the captain was oblivious or simply uncaring.

Or so Seth was told. He hadn't been down to see the prisoner - he was never on guard duty, being a shipwright brought along to keep the paddle ship in good shape for the journey through the Calm Belt. There was never a time his presence was needed in the brig. Seth's friend, Caldwell, had been pressuring him to join them in the captive's cell, though. 

"Come on, Seth!" He'd said. "The prisoner doesn't care, and no one will even know! There aren't any risks! You're always so stressed, relax and enjoy yourself for once! You haven't seen it - he literally  _ asks _ for it!"

So here Seth was, walking alongside his friend down in the bowels of the ship, the sick feeling that had surrounded the whole situation becoming stronger yet in his gut. 

He heard it before anything else - talking and laughter and smacking noises echoing through the empty halls. Those rumors were true, then. It  _ was _ audible. Then he smelled sweat and sex, and he felt a little sicker. Still, he kept walking alongside Caldwell. He wasn't one to back out of a challenge he'd accepted, and that was what this had become. 

They reached the cell, and at first all Seth could see were the bodies of his crewmates. It wasn't until one of them backed away with a laugh that he saw the captive. Completely naked, and completely limp in the holds of more men than he thought should be able to crowd someone. He was muscular and scarred and some of his injuries didn't even seem fully healed. In the glimpse that he got before another marine took the first one's place, he saw the captive's expression. There was a blindfold covering his eyes, but it had slipped and he could see one of them staring hazily at nothing in particular. 

It was sunken and tired and had no life to it. His face was lax and there was no crinkling in the skin around his eyes like there would be were he truly happy. The smile just looked dead. Seth stood quite still, unnerved and staring at where he'd been able to see the haunting image, where now one of his crewmates was standing and moving his hips in a way that made Seth's stomach churn.

Call him an innocent fool, but Seth had joined the marines to  _ help _ people, to protect innocents and uphold justice. Disgust filled him, especially as he watched Caldwell enter and join their shipmates in their violation of the prisoner. 

He turned on his heel and he walked away. When he reached the deck he found himself stumbling to the railing and hurling the contents of his stomach over the side of the ship. It was wrong. He'd known it subconsciously when his shipmates had all been talking, but seeing it in person brought that  _ wrong _ feeling to the forefront.  _ No one  _ should be treated like that. He'd accepted the idea of slavery unwillingly, as a sort of greater good scenario that the marines  _ had  _ to turn their eyes away from, but actually seeing someone subjected to that complete lack of humanity… 

Seth gripped the railing tightly and stared down at the waves lapping against the ship. It wasn't right. None of that was right. And his crewmates, his  _ friends _ , were - he shut his eyes tight and threaded his fingers into his hair.  _ What the fuck, what the fuck, this can't be right.  _

He'd known all along that the marines weren't the perfect definition of justice. But he'd thought they were the best option this world had - in his town at home the marines were always kind. Growing up he'd watched them and pretended to be them. The way they fought pirates and protected civilians like him… it'd been  _ exactly  _ what he wanted. 

The protection of other people had been what he wanted. Not the  _ turning a blind eye towards outright rape _ and convincing himself that it was okay. Not the being pressured to  _ join in. _

He stood there by the railing, sweating and periodically coughing and spitting the remaining taste of his sickness into the dark water below. 

He didn't bother to sit near Caldwell when they had their dinner that night, instead taking it out onto the deck. He volunteered for lookout duty to avoid him and his other friends during the night. He didn't think he'd keep his food down if he saw them again. 

The separation gave him the time to think. The image of the captive's face wouldn't leave his mind.  _ The prisoner doesn't care, _ Caldwell had said, as if that justified it. It didn't. In no way did that justify it, no matter how Seth tried to spin it in his head. He couldn't understand how  _ any  _ of his crewmates could look at that poor soul and want to take advantage of him. He had no appetite, and as he thought he simply pushed his food around his plate. 

He itched to  _ do  _ something about it. Was this what he'd been ignoring all these years of thinking his work was just? He couldn't find any justification. Had he willingly committed his life to what had to be a complete facade to give the public an idea of justice? How often had things like this happened around him without his noticing? How many people had been hurt this badly? 

The smile haunted him. 

He retreated to his bunk and did not speak a word to Caldwell, and then he spent the night in a fit of restless thrashing. Or, well. Half of the night. It was three in the morning when he arose and his feet carried him once again to the brig. Outside the cell a guard was snoozing, but to Seth's relief the cell currently only had that one single occupant. 

He crouched by the bars. The smell of sweat and alcohol and sex was still here, perhaps stronger than before. In the dim light, he saw one of those empty eyes look at him, or rather, through him. The prisoner's hands were shackled behind him and his body was covered by what was essentially an oversized shirt. It was filthy and ripped in some places, and where his arms and legs weren't covered by the fabric there was dark bruising. 

The captive was on his knees now. He shuffled to the bars and that smile became visible. Seth shivered but didn't back away as the shell of a man approached and stopped when he was pressing his forehead against one of the bars. 

"What's your name?" Seth whispered. He hated that he didn't know, hated even more that his crewmates who were using the captive likely didn't know. 

The prisoner did not move, barely even seemed to breathe. Seth wondered if he'd even answer. 

"Zoro," the captive whispered in a cracked voice after an agonizingly long hesitation. 

Zoro. A real person with a real name. 

Seth wasn't sure what else to say. Why had he come down here?

"My name is Seth." He heard himself say. 

There was no response, only that smile looking through him. 

The captive -  _ Zoro _ \- continued to press against the bars, almost producing a high whine from his throat. 

Seth put his hand up to the bars and immediately Zoro's cheek was pressed against it. His eyes closed in what had to be some sick kind of bliss. His cheek was sweaty and had old blood running down it and other things Seth wasn't going to question. Zoro stayed close to the bars and did not flinch or shy away when Seth began to gently rub his thumb over his cheek. In fact, his body relaxed into the touch as if he needed it to survive. Seth didn't have the heart to take that away from him, so he sat and held his face through the bars.

Zoro's shaky breathing slowly steadied and then he was sleeping, leaning into Seth's hand as if it were precious to him. 

Seth slowly lowered his hand and Zoro's head and body followed until he was curled up by the cell's bars. 

Seth left him in that quiet. God knew the poor guy could use a break. 

Seth wondered what else he could do. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Seth baby ok


	22. Chapter 22

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi!!!! Happy new year!!! 2021, huh. Feels weird.   
> Again, a thank you to BookCreature for beta reading! Enjoy!!!

Whitebridge was on the horizon. They had a tailwind propelling them towards it and Luffy was on the front of the ship. 

It had been eight days. Eight days since Robin had overheard the agent's discussion. Eight days since Zoro was at his last known location. Whitebridge. Luffy just wanted to get the hell onto the island. He'd been raring to go for days now, ready to bust in and steal his swordsman back from that asshole of an agent, ready to wrap his arms around him and never let go. 

Zoro was _his._ _His_ swordsman, and like hell was he letting him be chained to a life of bondage. 

Before he could launch himself onto the island, though, Nami's hand stopped him. "Luffy. We have to be careful about this. Let Robin and I do some snooping, just for an hour or two, okay? If he's not here, we can't make a ruckus. It'll warn them that we're on their tail."

As much as Luffy wanted to reach out and grab that tree that was right on the coast, begging to be used to shoot him onto the island's street, he relaxed. He drummed his fingers on the figurehead between his legs. "...Okay. Okay, Nami. Hurry."

He watched the island get closer and they weighed anchor in a hidden cove. Nami and Robin disembarked and Luffy stood on the deck with Sanji, Usopp, Chopper and Vivi, watching them go. He dug into Merry's white railing with his fingernails. 

To distract himself, he turned and walked along the railing to his Cook. 

Sanji was on crutches. His leg had a nasty bruise on it and the bone was fractured. Chopper had put it in a cast and warned Sanji not to work the leg very hard or kick anything. 

His hand was bandaged and each of his fingers had splints. Several of his finger bones had been broken and wrenched out of place and the skin had been ripped open in some spots. It had been a very bloody wound, and even when Sanji had recovered from the shock of the pain, he'd continued trembling against Luffy's back. 

When they'd reached the ship, Chopper had done what he could, put the bones back in order and stitched up the skin and tightly bandaged the hand, but on their voyage Luffy had seen Sanji glaring at the appendage when its uselessness got in the way of his cooking and his general day-to-day activities. 

It must have been upsetting to only have use of one hand, but Luffy knew it was worse than just that. He knew Sanji's hands were his treasure. He knew that until it healed properly and even afterwards he'd be upset about it. 

"You okay?" He asked the blond. 

Sanji shrugged him off and took a drag of his cigarette. He'd been smoking way too many of those this past week, Luffy thought. Not that he was going to stop him. 

"Chopper still think it'll heal alright?" He asked. His doctor had been worrying constantly over the cook, and Luffy couldn't help but be proud of him. 

"Fine. It'll be fine." Sanji answered, voice gruff. 

Luffy knew Sanji didn't want to think about it. He also knew that Sanji thought about it a lot anyways. He'd seen him up in the middle of the night, shoulders just a little shaky as he stared down at the hand. 

But he hadn't said anything about it. Luffy didn't want to push it from him, but at the same time, he didn't like seeing his cook so upset. 

They lapsed into silence. 

It was an agonizing eternity before Nami and Robin returned, but they returned with news. News that after looking at the navy base's logs, they'd found that Zoro had been shipped out seven days ago on a ship headed through the Calm Belt to Sabaody Archipelago. 

That was all Luffy needed. "Then we need to set sail and follow them."

"Luffy, the Merry isn't built to sail through that sea. We can't move forward. We'll be eaten by sea kings." Nami said. 

"Nami, trust me." He told her, an idea formulating in his head. "You're my navigator, right? I'll help you. We can sail through any sea. We can't waste time."

He looked at his other nakama. Usopp had a serious expression on his face, but Luffy saw his legs trembling, saw how he gulped in fear. Chopper was hugging Usopp's leg, looking just as worried. Sanji didn't look happy either. He was eyeing Nami, waiting to see her response, as was Vivi. 

Robin looked intrigued. "Are you going to do something crazy, Captain?" She asked. She had a knowing glint in her eye. 

Luffy only nodded. 

Nami set her jaw. "Alright, Captain. I'll trust you."

The Calm Belt was only a few miles from Whitebridge. Luffy could see a vague line where the water became calm and crystal clear, even from a distance. There was even a line in the clouds, as if none dared to cross over into those waters. 

"Nami, sail us right in."

He stepped up onto the figurehead. 

"Straight in!?" He heard Usopp and Chopper shriek, but he knew what he was doing. 

Or, at least, what he was going to do. Whether it would work wasn't something he had the time to consider. Nami didn't respond, but Luffy saw that division in the sky getting closer until the breeze suddenly stopped. She'd done what he'd asked. His crew's trust was placed in him. Robin stood next to the figurehead, the closest to him. 

"You know, Captain. This is incredibly reckless. I've heard of captains doing the same thing and living to regret it. Or not living at all."

She was right, of course. But Luffy wouldn't give up. "Well, we gotta get to Zoro."

A massive head surfaced from the water, and Luffy saw the coils of a long, lithe body looping up over the waterline and back down into it as they coiled round the ship. The sea king was inspecting them. Luffy glared back at it, and it cocked its head as if in surprise. 

It was double the size of the Lord of the Coast. Not the largest of sea kings. Its eyes weren't dumb like those of the one from his home island. It was inquisitive, almost. 

"IT'S STARING AT US!!" Chopper shrieked, and his voice went muffled at the end - must be Usopp covering his mouth. The deck of the ship was silent after that.

Until Luffy spoke up. "OI! SEA KING! WANNA FIGHT!?"

He didn't know if it understood him, but that was an easy fix. He stretched his arms out and grabbed the fins that grew out from its head like ears. Using them, he launched himself upwards to it and as he did so, he cocked his right arm back and delivered a hard punch right into its forehead. 

He heard his nakama screaming at him. 

The serpent gave a roar and reared back in pain, shaking its head. Luffy watched it as he fell towards the ocean. Before he even hit the water, it shot out and threw its head forward to snap at him, catching him in its mouth and suddenly shutting him in the darkness. 

That wouldn't do. 

"Gomu gomu no… GATLING!" He pounded his fists against the inside of its mouth until the jaws opened and released him and the creature gave another roar. Luffy climbed up onto its snout. "Oi! I want you to pull our ship!!"

It glared at him as if offended, so he shot his leg up into the air and brought it down right on the thing's snout in a vicious kick, which once again left him airborne. He grabbed its ears again and suddenly it was diving into the water and it was all Luffy could do to hold on with his hands and flail limply in the water as it tried to buck him off and turn its head to snap at him. It briefly resurfaced and with a loud cry he wrapped his legs round and round its neck and then again they were underwater. This time it was for so long that Luffy wondered if he'd drown. 

They resurfaced and he gasped for air, and then - 

"THUNDERBOLT TEMPO!!" His navigator's voice rang out, and there was quite the blinding light and the sea king roared out in pain. 

"YOU IDIOT, LUFFY, _ THIS  _ WAS YOUR PLAN!??" Nami yelled at him. 

The sea king splashed back into the water and Luffy lost his grip on its neck and sank, at least until an arm grabbed him and he broke the surface and Nami was pulling him back to the ship and up over its railing. He hit wood and coughed up water. 

Chopper was waving his little arms, jumping in front of Luffy when he sat up. "He says stop! He says he'll do what we want, so stop beating him!!"

Nami's fist slammed into the top of Luffy's head when he sat up. "You can't just  _ fight  _ a sea king, idiot!! Especially not when Sanji can't help you fight it! You gave us a heart attack!!" She shrieked.

Luffy shrugged. "Worked."

In his peripheral, he saw Sanji struggling out of a hold that Usopp seemed to have put him into. "You can let  _ go, _ now, shitty nose." He hissed, wrenching himself out of the grip and shooting a glare at the sharpshooter. 

Usopp must have held him back. "Sanji, you can't-" he began.

"Shut  _ up!  _ I  _ get it _ !!" Sanji spat the words as if they were venom. 

"Sanji-san -" Vivi, who was nearby, tried. 

" _ Stop _ . Just  _ stop _ . Leave me alone." Sanji didn't quite glare, but the look he gave her was damn near close. He turned and stormed off into the galley. 

Usopp gave Luffy a helpless look, and Luffy frowned at the galley door. "Let's get going," he murmured to Nami, standing up and pulling out of her hold, which had gone lax at Sanji's little outburst. 

He walked to Usopp and placed a hand on his shoulder. "I'll talk to him." He looked at Vivi as well, and she nodded, eyes downcast and only flicking up a moment to meet his. 

He'd give him some time, first, he decided. 

Robin had used her many arms to tie ropes on the sea king connecting it to the ship and yet more ropes like reigns, which she was now handing to Nami, who quietly thanked her. This way, all they had to do was pull one direction to get the beast to turn. 

Chopper was yelling over the railing, talking to the creature and trying to keep the tremor from his voice by the sound of it. Vivi and Usopp stood still, awkward and frozen and unsure of what to do until Nami yelled at them to organize the storeroom or something.

Even to Luffy, that was an obvious excuse to get them moving. 

Nami gave Luffy a short glance, and he nodded gratefully. 

\- - - 

It was evening, not long before dinnertime, when Luffy entered the galley to talk to his cook. Sanji didn't look up from the counter, where he was quite awkwardly trying to cut up vegetables. 

Luffy walked over to stand next to him. "Can I help?"

Sanji set the knife down with a thud that almost made Luffy flinch. "...Yeah." 

He slid the cutting board over to him. Luffy wasn't a cook, but he did his best to cut them professionally, like Sanji always did. 

"I'm sorry, Luffy. For getting so upset. I'm just on edge." Sanji's voice from beside him said. 

Luffy took a long while to figure out what to say. 

Sanji continued. "I get if you're mad, and I'm going to apologize to Usopp and Vivi-chan and everyone…" 

"Sanji's hurting." Luffy said, and it fell very short of what was really happening. Luffy knew he wasn't eloquent. 

It seemed to do the job, though. Sanji had been absently stirring the water he'd set to boil for some reason - Luffy didn't understand cooking - and had now frozen. 

"It… it's going to heal fine. Chopper said-"

"That's not what I  _ meant _ ." Luffy said, but he knew he didn't have to. 

Sanji didn't say anything. He made a show of patting down his pockets, and after a long moment, he exhaled. "I'm out of cigarettes. I'm gonna go look for -"

"Sanji's acting like Usopp. Stop it." Luffy set down the knife and met his cook's eyes. 

He watched Sanji swallow thickly. "I'm fine. I just needed to cool off."

"No," Luffy said. "No." He didn't like it. Nami and Vivi and Usopp and Chopper had talked to each other and come to him and held each other until they felt ready to move forward.

Sanji had either been doing the comforting or doing nothing at all, and now he was physically hurt and still refusing comfort.

"I  _ am _ , Luffy. I'm just - once we find Zoro, I'll be just fine. We just need to get him back, okay? There's no need to worry."

Luffy crossed his arms. 

Sanji sighed heavily. His fingers of his right hand fiddled with each other and with the bandages on his left hand, searching for something to do. Soon, his lighter had appeared and he was fiddling with that. 

"I don't like that I can't use it." He muttered. "I'm supposed to make food for you guys. I'm  _ supposed  _ to  _ fight _ ."

He pocketed the lighter and ran the uninjured hand through his hair. "And I -  _ Nami _ had to fight instead of me, and  _ Usopp  _ held me back, and, I mean - I just turned to  _ you  _ to  _ cut carrots _ !  _ Look _ at them!" He gestured at the cutting board. Luffy had to admit, he'd done a shit job. 

Sanji stopped for a moment. "I just - everything is wrong, Luffy. Because I couldn't fight that marine well enough. And if I couldn't fight  _ him,  _ then…"

Sanji didn't need to finish his sentence. 

Luffy frowned. "Sanji's strong. Sanji's  _ really  _ strong."

Sanji was running his fingers through his hair repeatedly. Golden strands of it were floating to the floor. "But not  _ enough _ . I'm your  _ cook _ . And I can't even cook. I'm supposed to keep everyone safe. We both are, like we did in East Blue... But I  _ can't _ . I couldn't even protect my hands." 

_ I couldn't protect my treasure  _ didn't need to be said. 

"Sanji did everything just fine." Luffy said quietly. The way Sanji's brow was furrowed in anger, anger directed  _ inward  _ and not  _ outward  _ reminded him of Ace. He knew there wasn't anything he could say to simply fix this. 

Ace had sometimes appreciated when he'd tried, though. At least he was pretty sure he had. Maybe they weren't so similar, though, because a lot of Ace's anger was outward, too, and Sanji's wasn't. 

"When you're in a crew you do everything you can, right? And then you turn to your nakama, and you tell them to pick it up from there. That's what you did, right? And your hand is gonna heal. And cooking's gonna be hard for a while, but we'll help you, even if we're not so good at that."

"Luffy, what did we do to deserve you?" Sanji asked. 

Luffy didn't understand that. He helped Sanji finish the meal in silence. 

When they all ate together it tasted less than stellar, but Sanji didn't seem quite as upset. Maybe. 

\- - -

After that first visit down to the captive - Zoro, Seth reminded himself, he returned a few times in the dead of night. Always, the captive was awake, but there were dark bags under his eyes and most times all Seth could do was hold him through the bars until he fell asleep. 

After the first few nights of this, Zoro began to wait right by the bars for him and when he approached he began to see that smile become real for a moment every time. 

It had been eleven days since they'd set off on this voyage. Five days since Seth had first visited Zoro. He went down the steps into the brig, this time holding a decent-sized bottle of water and a small first aid kit - increasingly, he couldn't stand seeing what a poor shape the prisoner was in. He supposed he may as well do something about that. 

When he entered, Zoro was seated by the bars, as usual. The guard tonight was awake, but Seth had stopped caring whether his visits were secret after the first three nights. He wasn't breaking any rules. 

"I'll be here until the next shift starts," he told the current guard, one whose name he couldn't remember but who he knew wasn't in on Zoro's abuse. "So you can go to bed if you want."

The man thought for a moment, then nodded and exited the brig, leaving Seth and Zoro alone. 

"Hey, Zoro." Seth said softly, and for a moment Zoro's eyes shone in the light of the hallway's lantern. 

Seth smiled in return, and Zoro seemed to relax some. Seth took his seat outside the bars. He'd still never entered the cell, just remained outside. 

"I've brought a first aid kit with me today," he murmured, and Zoro gave no response. That was alright, he never did. Seth would just talk and fill the silence. "And some water, and a cloth. So I can clean you up a little, if you want."

Zoro watched him through the bars. 

Seth took the cloth and poured some of the water from the bottle into it. He raised the wet cloth through the bars and gently pressed it to Zoro's face, where there was an old, bloody injury, likely from having his head slammed into the floor. Slowly, he rubbed circles in the area with the cloth, clearing away the accumulation of blood and grime and other things. Zoro did not fight it, in fact he soon closed his eyes and that smile relaxed just a little. 

Soon, his face was clean. It was still bruised and had begun to bleed in some places from the old blood being cleared away, but it made a difference. Gently, Seth put small bandages over the bleeding areas.

Zoro remained docile and calm as he did this, and that was no surprise. "Can I see your knees?" He asked. "I want to clean them up."

Zoro nodded, eyes on the floor. He shifted his weight so that he could slip out of his kneeling position and bend his legs in front of him. Seth tried to ignore the bruises on the inside of his thighs when the oversized shirt rode up enough to reveal them. 

He cleaned Zoro's knees as he had his face. They were raw and scraped up and quite red. In the places where the skin was torn open, they were whitish-yellow and sticky and shiny, perhaps infected. Seth did his best not to make it hurt. 

Once Zoro's knees were clean, he bandaged them as well, and didn't miss the little sigh the captive gave at the gentle treatment. There wasn't anything else Seth felt he could do without asking the guy to remove his clothes, and he didn't think he could do that.

"Thank you," Zoro murmured, and Seth looked up, surprised. 

"Of course," he said softly. "You don't deserve how they treat you."

Zoro's eyes turned confused where they were fixed on his knees.

"Are you thirsty?" 

A slow nod. 

Seth took the water bottle. Half of the cool water was remaining. He pushed the bottle through the bars and did his best to help Zoro drink it, which the man did quickly and almost desperately. It was a little awkward, the way he had to basically feed it to him through the bars, but for a moment after he finished drinking, Zoro's smile was nowhere to be found as he licked the last of the moisture from his lips. 

Seth found he preferred that. 

\- - -

Usopp was staying away from the front of the ship. 

Luffy had named the sea king Fish Sticks. Usopp did not want to be anywhere near Fish Sticks. Maybe he was being paranoid about it - it had been three days pulled by the creature and it had yet to turn around and clamp its enormous jaws around their ship - but seriously. It was a monstrous sea serpent with jagged teeth and murderous eyes and ominous, terrifying fins that sliced up through the water's surface even when the rest of it had gone under. How could he be the only sane one on this ship!? 

Even with Chopper's translation, they didn't have a good idea of what kind of personality the creature had. Chopper apparently couldn't directly understand and translate words from a sea king as he could other animals, so he largely went based on body language and tone, which Usopp just had to accept because  _ he  _ couldn't talk to sea kings. So, according to their doctor, all they really knew was that the thing was sufficiently subdued to pull their ship, maybe. 

Chopper had also said its mannerisms were like that of a child. Usopp did not understand that and just took his word for it. He supposed it made some sense - it was small compared to others he'd seen. 

And yet the Merry would likely be less than a snack for it and it had those vicious, terrifying teeth. Staying away from the figurehead would do nothing should it decide it was hungry, but Usopp did it anyways. 

He felt awkward everywhere. Luffy still wouldn't leave the figurehead, either yelling something stupid at Fish Sticks or sitting in contemplative silence that didn't suit him. Even at mealtimes he was subdued. Nami was busy trying to pinpoint where exactly that marine ship holding Zoro may be, and Vivi was with her, sharing what she knew about Marine ships since she'd been on them before on her country's business. 

Chopper was fussing over Sanji near-constantly, and, well. The cook had apologized, but Usopp was still irrationally nervous about being around him. That glare had scared him, especially from Sanji who was always so cool and saved his real anger for their enemies. 

In general, there was a thick blanket of tense energy over them all. They were making good headway - Fish Sticks was fast - but there was an unspoken fear that they wouldn't arrive soon enough. That the ship would reach Zoro's destination and their swordsman would change hands until he was completely lost to them. 

He was sitting among Nami's mikan trees, now. The spot was good enough - he was on deck and would know if something happened, and he could feel the breeze, but he was somewhat secluded from the others. 

"Hello, Sniper-kun." The voice made him jump. 

He jumped "Robin! You scared me!"

She did that all the time. Without even trying. She was creepy. So creepy. Usopp couldn't help but feel terrified of her. She was sitting right next to him, long legs bent up by her chest. She was looking at the mikan trees. He hadn't heard her approach. 

Her only response to his exclamation was a giggle that made him shift awkwardly. He didn't know her well. Only that she was mysterious and knew everything and seemed to be on their side. She'd helped them quite a bit. 

"I've never seen a ship with orange trees on it." She commented. 

"They're mikans," Usopp told her. "They're Nami's."

"I'd imagine it's useful to combat scurvy, yes?" 

Usopp shrugged. "That's… not really the point. But yeah."

They sat in silence until Usopp hated that too much. "They're from her hometown. She grew them there, or. Well, basically. They're sentimental to her. I shouldn't say more, it's her story."

Robin hummed. "Your crew is very sentimental."

"I guess. Are others not?" He asked.

"Not that I have noticed."

Usopp thought that odd. Why would a pirate stay in a crew if the crew didn't understand each other and have cares like they did? "We're just… people. We carry stuff. Doesn't everyone?"

"You all wear it on your sleeve." She told him.

Usopp shrugged. 

"You know how dangerous what you are doing is, don't you?"

Usopp shrugged again. "It doesn't matter. We're doing it."

"The World Government is worse than you know. They almost always get what they want."

"So does Luffy. You've seen him fight." Usopp said. 

Robin hummed again. 

\- - -

Another week passed on the navy ship. Sabaody was only a few days away. Seth felt worse the closer they sailed. 

Then, on the horizon while out on deck on the sixteenth day of the voyage he spotted it.

A ship. 

He stared at it a moment, and then the alarm was going off. An enemy, then? But who? And why? 

His crewmates sprinted around him, working to ready the cannons and prepare the ship for a confrontation. Seth joined in the chaos. As he ran about the ship he heard snippets of conversations. "It's a pirate ship!" "Look how small it is! This is  _ not _ a big deal." "I was up in the crow's nest, it's advancing  _ fast _ !" "It's pulled by a  _ sea king! _ "

Seth wondered how much of it was true. When he glanced out over the sea he indeed saw the head of one of the monsters dive below the surface in front of the pirate ship, which sported a jolly roger with a straw hat. Seth hadn't seen it before. Who was crazy enough to tame a sea king and yet didn't have a bounty to match such strength?

He continued to work, but he ran by the communications room and heard someone say "We've successfully reached a transponder snail that should be on that ship, sir." 

He stopped short. Curiosity got the better of him. There were the sounds of the beginning of a call. 

There was some distant shouting on the other end, then sounds of a struggle before the receiver must have been grabbed quite forcefully and a young, angry voice came from the other end. " _ OI _ ! I  _ KNOW _ ZORO'S ON THAT SHIP! YOU CAN'T HAVE MY NAKAMA, YOU BETTER GIVE HIM BACK OR I'LL BEAT ALL YOUR ASSES AND -"

There was another struggle.  _ Zoro? _

"Give your captive back or we will take him by force." Another voice came through, this one female and much calmer than the other, but with a solemn threat in it.

_ Nakama _ , the boy's voice had said. The captive had  _ nakama _ , who cared enough to  _ follow him into the Calm Belt  _ and  _ tame a sea king  _ in order to get him back. 

Seth turned on his heel and left the doorway. His feet carried him down the stairs into the prison area, then to the cell. Two of his crewmates were keeping watch outside it. He approached them and could see that one of them had hastily fixed his clothing, likely at the sound of the alarm. 

"What's going on!?" One of them - the one whose clothes weren't rumpled - asked. "We heard the alarm, but couldn't leave our post!"

"We have pursuers. The captain called for all hands on deck - get going, I'll be behind you!" Seth said before he could give up on his plan. He wasn't going to be complicit in this violation of rights anymore. Both of them nodded and ran for the exit, and Seth grabbed the keys off one of them as he ran by, bumping into him in his haste. 

Seth turned his attention to the captive. He was laying on the floor as if he'd been dumped there and hadn't moved. Clothing was haphazardly thrown onto his body - the same long shirt as before, in worse shape and even filthier, covered in the proof of his abuse. It hadn't been adjusted properly - the collar of the shirt was twisted a bit oddly and looked uncomfortable in how it sat over his shoulders, stuck in the sweat there.

It was obvious what had been happening in here before that alarm went off. Seth shook his head and fitted the key into the cell's lock. When he approached, the captive's head raised a little to turn towards him. He wasn't blindfolded, and his sunken, tired eyes followed his path towards him. They lit up just a little at recognizing him.

He crouched down to be closer to his level. "Oi. We've got a ship following us. The crew's asking for you."

The eyes blinked slowly. They didn't meet Seth's, and they remained dull. Seth worried that he was too far gone. Did he even understand? How far had his crewmates pushed him? How far had he already been pushed by this world?

"Oi, Zoro." A twitch. "They said they're taking you back. That you're nakama."

The breathing was soon incredibly shaky and uncertain. It quickened and then the captive was trembling. Seth had hardly even seen him trembling when the other marines were abusing him. Whatever this reaction was, it was something notable. 

"Zoro. Do you want to go to them?"

The captive pulled on his bonds. A struggle? He had never struggled. 

Seth undid his cuffs. He took one of the captive's arms and threw it over his shoulder. He pulled him out from the cell, ignoring how clammy and filthy the guy's skin was. 

Up the stairs they went, and increasingly the captive began to walk on his own more and more. Seth pulled him onto the deck - that ship was much closer now. A figure was on the front of it, dressed in red, and behind that were several others. 

The captive broke away from Seth with considerable force and ran to the railing. He said nothing, only leaned over it and stared. Seth followed him to the rail.

Then, from the approaching ship, a loud cry went up. "ZORO!!" It was the voice from the transponder snail, but in person it was louder. There was more emotion in two syllables than Seth thought he'd heard in every word he'd ever said combined. 

The captive actually reached a hand out. "CAPTAIN!" He called out loudly, and his voice was ragged and choked and desperate and when Seth glanced over, he saw shuddering shoulders and teary eyes. 

"WE'RE COMING, ZORO! HOLD ON!!"

Several marines were rushing them now. The captive turned from the railing to face them. 

Seth faced his incoming crewmates as well. Beside him, Zoro lashed out like a wild animal, moving fluidly and completely the opposite of how he'd been in the cell. Seth stood where he couldn't defend and threw punches and kicks at his fellow crewmates. He made eye contact with Caldwell just once, and then he was busting his nose open and he couldn't find any regret within himself. When Seth was grabbed and wrenched so that they weren't at each other's backs anymore, the captive roared out what had to be some sort of battle cry and slammed an elbow backwards into one marine's face. Even with his back uncovered he didn't go down. 

Seth wasn't a small man. In fact he was quite the opposite. He wasn't the type to be brought down easily. He threw the one who'd grabbed him off him and continued to fight. He wasn't giving up. He wasn't going to lose. . He gritted his teeth and glanced at the incoming ship. Then, a loud bang rang out and he froze. 

He looked down, and there was a rapidly growing patch of red on his white shirt. 

He took a slow breath and staggered on his feet till he hit the railing. The marines around him froze and in a sudden rush of wind the agent was  _ right there _ , and one of his fingers was pushed firmly  _ into  _ the captive's torso, and blood was spreading around it, soaking into his already-filthy covering. A pistol was in his other hand.

The captive froze and stared down at the finger inside his chest. After a moment of stillness he squirmed away and threw an unbalanced punch but the agent dodged easily and grabbed him by his hair to shove him down to the ground and stomp hard onto his back, drawing a pained grunt from him. 

"Chain him back up. Fire the cannons - kill that sea king and sink that ship." He hissed out at Seth's crewmates. Once they were taking care of the captive, he approached Seth himself. 

Seth was gripping his chest, but at being approached his hand, slick with his blood, moved back to the railing as he leaned back. He tried to breathe, but with his shaking, it was too hard. His fingers felt cold and his vision was blurring. 

The railing suddenly creaked next to him and out of nowhere a knife was gripped in the agent's hand, speeding downwards to Seth's right. A scream rang from the other ship and Seth glanced to the side to see a hand rocketing back towards its owner on a bizarrely stretched out arm, spewing blood into the water.

The agent glared at Seth then, and Seth couldn't keep eye contact. The agent roughly pushed against Seth's chest and shoved him back against and over the railing. Seth let out a choked cry as he fell the long way down the side of the ship, and then there was the shock of cold water. 

He flailed and frantically tried to tread water, but his strength was leaving him. He could see scarlet filling the water around the wound in his chest. There was the sound of cannonfire and Seth's ears rang but he saw the pirate ship take several hits on its side and rock in the water. He kept trying to tread water, but he was dizzy and the pain from his chest was trying to paralyze him. He took one last gasp of air and then sank, unable to stay above the surface anymore. 

He breathed in saltwater a few moments later, his head dizzy.

\- - -

Zoro was in that dark room again. There were cuffs on his wrists again and he was struggling in them. Guard was a liar. Luffy wanted him - he'd chased after him and called out his name. He'd seen the ship. He'd seen his Nakama. The kind man - Seth. Seth had shown him. 

And Guard had shot Seth. 

His chest twinged in pain from Guard's finger having been stabbed into it. Zoro found he didn't care. He didn't care about that at all. He was _angry._ _Angry_ , because he'd thought his nakama were done with him, because Guard had convinced him of it. The Guard was a liar. 

He pulled at the cuffs now on his ankles and wrists. He was  _ not  _ going to stay here. Not when Luffy wanted him. He didn't care any longer that the air was cold and that he was alone in the cell, because there was an outside of the cell. An outside where Luffy wanted him. He didn't need to stay in here and pretend, and latch onto the words of  _ liars. _

His mind went briefly to his master. Master wanted him. Luffy wanted him. Who was more important? Could he betray his master and live with Luffy? He hesitated in his struggling. 

Master wanted him. Master always had a use for him and let him work despite his past failures. Master berated him, but he deserved it. He knew how to act with Master.

Luffy… Luffy smiled at him and looked at him like he was worth everything. He held him and talked to him like talking to him was worth it. Zoro didn't know how to act with Luffy. Things were always changing, they were always some place new with a challenge Zoro would never be able to imagine.

Luffy wanted Zoro to be a swordsman. 

… Zoro wanted to be a swordsman. 

But freedom wasn't his to take. His life belonged to his master, and if he wanted him it was his right to have him. Zoro couldn't give up on that. It would be selfish. Zoro couldn't be selfish.

But Luffy gave him freedom without Zoro doing anything for him. And Luffy wanted him even when he did things on his own, and even when he fucked up.

So did Nami, and so did Long-Nose and Cook and Vivi and Doctor. 

They'd all given him what he'd dreamed about all those years he was with his masters. He had his swords and he was free to run and fight…

Those dreams had been  _ wrong _ , though. With his masters, he'd known they were  _ wrong.  _ When people wanted him, his freedom wasn't what mattered. It would only hold him back from doing as his masters asked. To pursue freedom would be to betray them.

But  _ Luffy  _ wanted him. And Luffy  _ encouraged  _ him to be free. Nami wanted him, and she'd bought him his swords and taught him to swim. Cook taught him to fight. Long-Nose told him stories that only deepened his want for freedom. Vivi was someone he'd fought for and defeated his enemies for, like in his dreams, and she'd always been teary-eyed and thankful. Doctor allowed him free movement and supported the things he chose to do with it.

All of them wanted him. He'd seen them all on the other ship, when Luffy had called his name and reached for him - he'd  _ seen  _ him reach for him.

Master… Master had nothing on them. Zoro was going to be selfish. Zoro wanted Luffy. Zoro wanted his nakama, more than anything else.

He renewed his attempts to break the cuffs tenfold. Luffy had given him what he'd longed for since he was a child, and he  _ wasn't  _ letting anyone take it away. Not anymore. Not when the only way he'd wanted to return to master was because of  _ lies _ .

A long, long time passed. Zoro's wrists and ankles became bloody and in his mind he was in the ship that had first taken him, in his ten-year-old body that was too weak to escape. The situation was the same, but he was stronger now. He frowned in concentration and pulled at the chains, but they weren't budging. 

Hours passed and footsteps came down the hall. The door to his cell opened and some of the men from before entered. 

Zoro sat up straight. He did not meet their eyes but he glared in their direction. Luffy wanted him, and that meant he was no longer here to let them have their way. 

One of them grabbed him by the front of his shirt. Zoro remembered what he'd done on that first ship, how he'd punched and kicked and spat and bit for his freedom. 

Once again, he was going to fight. These liars would not keep him locked up.

He spat right in the man's face and for it he earned a shove to the ground and a kick in the stomach. As lay on the ground, wheezing and struggling to properly breathe again, nothing but gratification filled his chest. That had felt  _ good. _ Not the hit, but the small act of rebellion. 

The one who had kicked him climbed on top of him and pinned him on his back. Zoro lurched up and slammed his head as hard as he could into the man's chin. 

"Don't touch me." He hissed. He was not here to take it anymore. He shoved back the fear that was creeping up at the thought of what he'd let them do and instead let anger fill him. He was not a toy. Guard had lied. Luffy wanted him, and if Luffy wanted him, Zoro was going to protect his dignity, or whatever was left of it. A swordsman had dignity. He was Luffy's swordsman. Luffy's. Not theirs.

The man reeled just a little and scrambled off of Zoro, only to be replaced by another who drove a knee into his stomach and wrapped calloused fingers around his neck and squeezed. Zoro tried to gasp for breath but could not get any in. He glared up at his assailant as he struggled and tried to kick his legs and wrench his neck free.

For a long, long time the hands remained. When they were removed Zoro gasped and the world spun and he couldn't understand his surroundings. People were grabbing him again, he could feel their hands. No. No. He did not belong to them. But his body was too weak and shaky to struggle. His clothes were being slid off. No. He was not there for them to stare at or touch. 

There were three of them. One was holding his head, the same way someone had last time, and the time before that. 

But then, Zoro hadn't known his Captain was looking for him. 

Someone forced their way into his mouth. The taste was vile. Zoro was not a toy. Zoro bit down with all the force he could possibly muster and blood filled his mouth and someone  _ screamed.  _

"Shit, what the  _ fuck _ , holy shit, get him - get him to the infirmary,  _ fuck, _ " someone was saying, and Zoro was unhanded. He watched the man he'd hurt twitch and scream where he'd fallen to the ground. The other two grabbed him and were gone in a moment, leaving Zoro alone. 

Zoro pulled on his cuffs.

The Guard entered soon. The liar. 

Zoro was on his knees. The man stormed to him, but Zoro pushed back his pain and got to his feet and stood tall. He ignored the pain both inside him and outside him at the movement. He wasn't kneeling for anyone. He belonged to Luffy. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed! How can things be looking up and going down at the same time???? 
> 
> Also Fish Sticks is a lovely boy, ok. 
> 
> Oh!!! Also, seriously, your comments mean so much to me!!! Those of you who comment on multiple chapters, I absolutely notice and have definitely mentioned it a few times, but literally it means so much that you keep coming back!!! It feels so nice to be working on something that's supported like this, and I never expected this many people to enjoy it!!! Thank you so much!!!


	23. Chapter 23

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! Been a bit, sorry for the wait. I had midterms and life and all that, and was having trouble getting through this.   
> I think I'm happy with the result, though! Thank you for your patience!

Zoro glared at the Liar, glared right into his eyes even though inside there was that bit of him that was afraid and wanted to return to the docile kneeling. He pulled at his bonds, forcing himself not to wince at the pain. 

The Liar smacked him hard, right across the face, and Zoro stumbled badly but remained on his feet. He spat out blood and glared at him from where he was still partially bent over. His legs were shaking and wanted to give out. He was exhausted. But he wasn't going to kneel at his feet anymore as long as he had the strength to stand. 

"You're not getting out of here, slave." The Liar hissed. "Whether you're going to comply or not is of no consequence." He grabbed Zoro's jaw. 

That small part of Zoro agreed and wanted him to lower his head and beg. 

The rest of him wanted nothing of the sort. In fact, he spat into the Liar's face and watched the bloody saliva splatter on his cheek and drip down. The fingers dug hard into his jaw, definitely bruising it. Zoro did not care. 

This man had  _ lied _ to him, had made him lose faith in Captain and give up on the dream that had made them all so happy. He'd tried to take him away from his nakama. Zoro was pissed. Beyond pissed.

"You're nothing but a toy, a plaything. And as such I'll be taking you to where you  _ belong _ . With your master. You've forgotten he  _ owns  _ you, body and soul. You're his  _ possession _ , and you'll never escape that." The Liar's grip remained tight on his jaw.

"I don't belong to him." Zoro hissed, and he kicked out at the Liar, managing to catch him in the shin before he was thrown down roughly and there was the weight of the Liar kneeling over him and pressure from hands squeezing his neck. 

He choked and tried to squirm his limbs out from the hold as he began to feel light-headed, but the pressure continued and Zoro could do nothing about it. Even so, he glared, wanted the Liar to know just how much anger he felt, how much fight he had left despite the bastard's efforts. He tried to kick his legs and get away, but to no avail. 

Suddenly, the pressure was gone and Zoro was left wheezing for breath, feeling as if he'd vomit. Still, between coughs that tried to force his eyes shut and his head down he forced himself to meet the Liar's eyes. 

The Liar stood and loomed over Zoro, who tried to kick backwards and get his pounding heart under control at the sight. No. No, he wasn't afraid. 

The Liar's shoe soon slammed into his side. He grunted in pain and before he could suck in a breath, the same shoe was grinding into his neck and stopping him. He gasped to no avail and scrabbled against the floor, but the foot did not let up, once more stopping his breathing and pinning him, choking him against the ground. His vision swam and went foggy as he tried to squirm away, only succeeding in making it feel worse, and then that pressure abated and the Liar must have stepped back. Zoro gasped and turned and dry heaved to the side, his body tensing badly as he did so. 

He felt wetness on his chest and knew he must be bleeding again, from the place where the Liar's finger had pierced him. He once again looked up at him, met his eyes with the newfound fire that he wasn't ever going to lose again. 

He tried to sit up and get to his feet again, only to have his chest stepped on and his back slammed back against the ground. His head clacked backwards and the sound was deafening in his ears. The toe of the shoe dug into the bleeding wound on his chest, and he struggled to catch his breath as it shot pain through his being over and over. He couldn't stop the agonized cry that left his throat and he tried to wrench out from under the foot. 

He gasped for breath, sweating and trying to calm his mind enough so that he felt like he wasn't about to die. 

"Tell me who it is you belong to and I'll leave you alone,  _ slave. _ "

Zoro tried to gather himself up enough to respond. Pinned to the floor as he was, he couldn't sit up, but he did glare up at the Liar again. He was done not meeting people's eyes, no matter how hard that was. "I BELONG-" 

More pressure on his chest. His breath left him and came back in a thin gasp and a series of coughs. When he could speak again, he restarted. "I belong to Monkey D. Luffy." He managed to say without breaking his glare. The calmness of his own voice surprised him, but was welcome. It was the truth. He knew it for certain. Luffy was his captain. Luffy wanted him, Luffy had given him a home and a dream and Nakama and for that Zoro would never leave him. 

Another kick slammed into him at this and he curled around his chest and took heavy breaths to combat the pain.

"I suppose it isn't my problem that you'll need to be broken again. The pain will be yours to bear." He heard the Liar say, and then there were receding footsteps.

Zoro watched him leave, chest pounding and leaking blood onto the floor. If he had the strength, he'd have rolled his eyes.

As if he'd be broken again. 

\- - - 

Luffy was nervous. He'd even go so far as to say he was afraid, because he'd  _ seen  _ Zoro on that other ship,  _ seen  _ his nakama and been unable to do anything. 

The only thing they'd gotten from the confrontation was damage to their ship and sea king and an unconscious man who had fallen overboard from the other ship, who Usopp had fished out and who Chopper had treated for a bullet wound. 

The little doctor had also fussed over the rest of them, especially Luffy's bleeding hand but there had been more important matters. Protecting Merry from the incoming cannonballs. Reclaiming Zoro. Luffy had brushed him off even though the stab wound hurt. 

Merry was badly damaged. Usopp was doing his best to repair her. Chopper had finally left Luffy's side, with some urging, to go see to Fish Sticks, who had panicked due to several cannonballs wounding him and had broken away from the tethers holding him to the ship. He'd returned once the marine's ship was gone, though, and for that Luffy was grateful. Chopper hadn't been able to do much, but reported that most of what Fish Sticks had needed was to calm down. Apparently the sea king appreciated the help. He was pulling them again, but much more slowly now both because of his injuries and because Usopp demanded it, said he and Vivi couldn't fix Merry well enough for her to sail that quickly. 

In the time it took to repair Merry, the marine ship had long disappeared with Zoro on board. It would beat them to Sabaody now, Nami said, perhaps even by a day or two. 

Luffy didn't want to leave his spot on the figurehead. He picked at the bandage on his hand, staring at the horizon as if the ship would appear again and give his crewmate back. It did not, of course. 

Sanji was quiet, and Luffy could tell that he felt nervous and restless too, that he couldn't stand being unable to fight or do anything. He supposed the cook had it worse than he did, with his broken leg and hand. Chopper said they'd potentially take  _ months  _ to recover.  _ Months.  _ Luffy needed to stop letting his nakama get hurt. 

Nami was helping Sanji in the kitchen, trying to keep his mind (and likely her own, too) off of the situation. They could only do so much worrying. They were sailing at the fastest speed that wouldn't damage the Merry further. There was nothing more they could do.

Luffy wanted to save Zoro  _ now.  _ He wanted this behind them. He missed the swordsman's presence, quiet as he always was, and remaining strong and comforting for his crewmates (which usually involved not crying) was wearing on him. He wondered how Ace had always done it. 

Luckily, all the comforting did not come from him now as it had seemed to before. Chopper had ended up talking to their newest crewmate, and they'd begun to get along in an awkward, quiet sort of way. The woman had become a pillar for the little doctor over the past few days, often holding him or just sitting with him, much the way Zoro used to. Luffy was glad to see it, even if he didn't smile about it. 

He didn't think he'd be able to smile or cry properly until Zoro was in his arms. 

The marine woke up soon after they continued on their way, and Luffy entered the girls' room-turned-infirmary with Chopper to talk to him. 

The marine stared at them quietly, seemingly pensive.

"I'm Luffy. I'm the captain of this ship." Luffy began, as much as he'd like to shake the man and demand any knowledge of the state of their swordsman. 

The marine didn't respond for a good moment, even when Luffy watched him expectantly, but then something seemed to resolve in his mind. "You're Zoro's captain." He said.

Luffy nodded, opened his mouth to say something else, but then the marine continued. 

"I'm Seth. I - I'm part of the crew who's transporting him. But they… well, I. My crew was cruel to your friend. I couldn't stand it. I saw your ship and I had to do something." 

"You're the reason he was on the deck." Chopper stated. 

The marine nodded. "Yeah, I…" he sighed. "I should have thought it through. A whole lot of good it did - I should have waited and broken him out on Sabaody." He held his head in one hand. "There would have been somewhere to run." You're-" he sat upright and looked at Luffy. "You're still on their tail, right? How far behind are you? Will you save him?" He sounded sincere. Like he cared. Like he wanted Zoro saved, too. 

Luffy could see genuine concern in the man's face. He hadn't gone into detail, but whatever that marine crew had done to his swordsman hadn't been good. If this man was going to be on their side, then so be it. 

"We will."

\- - -

Days passed and they exited the Calm Belt. Even after their exit, Fish Sticks pulled them along, and Luffy joined Usopp in catching fish on that last day when Sabaody was coming up on the horizon so they could pay him back. The activity was quiet and somewhat peaceful, and Usopp leaned against his shoulder and that alone was enough to strengthen Luffy. He'd save his swordsman. He had his crew with him. 

They caught a good amount of fish and Sanji cooked them up (with help from the rest of them, here and there), and when they fed it all to Fish Sticks and Chopper asked politely if he would take them back the way they'd come once they got Zoro, the sea king made a long, loud trill of sorts that Chopper told them he could only assume was a yes. With that settled and their ship docked at Sabaody's shore, all they could do was find their swordsman. 

They split up, Luffy with Robin, Usopp with Chopper, Vivi and Nami and Sanji together and Seth on the ship (he'd proven to be a decent shipwright and now that they were docked, he'd said he could do a better job of fixing Merry up). There had been some debate as to whether he was trustworthy enough to be left with her, whether they shouldn't leave Sanji with him (Sanji protested at that - he  _ needed  _ to help, he'd said. Luffy believed him.) but Luffy had looked into Seth's eyes and had known it would be alright. Usopp took some extra convincing, but Luffy was certain and he gave Usopp a serious look, the kind he knew stopped arguments within his crew, and simply told him, "It'll be fine."

Usopp had shut his mouth and accepted it. 

Seth also offered the knowledge he had about the ship the marines had been sailing on and offered his help should they need to get involved with marines, but said it was likely Zoro had been handed over to someone in the slavery business by now. 

For the first day Luffy and Robin searched every auction house and slave shop they could find on the island, and there were a sickening amount of them scattered around the lower numbered groves, as Robin called them. Even using Robin's powers to search, they had no luck in finding any clues as to the whereabouts of their swordsman, only conditions and treatments of people that made Luffy's blood boil and made him want to crush whatever bullshit group was behind it all into the ground.

Luffy was carrying Zoro's swords with him. He'd strapped them to his back and didn't intend to let go of them until they could be returned to their owner. As the day passed, they felt heavier and heavier. Luffy began to worry that Zoro had already been taken from the island, and he didn't like how the thought coiled up in his insides. Zoro needed to be free. Luffy needed to make Zoro free. 

There was no luck that first day. 

Then, though, as they walked through a very shady area of the archipelago on the second day, Robin nudged Luffy. 

"Luffy, don't make a scene, but the agent that took Zoro is on the other side of this street. The one with the ponytail."

Luffy completely disregarded the word of warning she'd begun with. There was no time for that, and he didn't have the patience to go any longer without actions. His fists had been itching for a fight. Here was someone to blame. Someone whose face he could pummel into oblivion and from whom he could demand his swordsman's location. 

He charged the bastard, only for his fist to hit air as the man disappeared. Unsatisfying. He whirled around, anger and emotion he'd been pushing back flaring up and forcing its way out of him in an enraged yell. 

"You followed this far, Straw Hat?" The bastard had moved behind him, and Luffy couldn't fathom how he'd moved so quickly but he didn't really care. He shot forward and threw another punch at the man. 

Again, his fist hit air, and then an elbow slammed into his chest with considerable force. 

_ Fast. He's fast.  _ Luffy thought as he tumbled backwards and crashed into a tree. He stumbled back to his feet and when he looked up he saw arms sprouting from the agent and trying to twist his limbs until they broke, but he took a stance and murmured something and the arms couldn't harm him. 

He saw Robin across the street, arms crossed.

Luffy wiped blood from his mouth and shot himself forwards as fast as he could, only to hit nothing once more. 

"So, Nico Robin has joined the Straw Hats?" The bastard's voice asked from behind him again.

  
  


Luffy ignored the statement, whirled around and tried to go in for another hit, only to hit thin air once again. He was  _ too slow.  _

\- - -

Fire. There was fire under Zoro's skin, running along his back and lighting him up with pain, and each gasping breath he took wasn't enough to fill his continually empty lungs. He gasped raggedly and another crack rang out, the ache that came after it burning from his back and through his shoulders and head and even down his legs to his toes. The pain made every muscle stiffen and bulge against his restraints. 

The bonds were tight and unyielding on his wrists, not that he'd be able to move properly were he untied. 

He needed to get out. He hadn't been here long, but they'd been so much quicker to order him around, to try and take away his freedom once again and though a single thought of Luffy had been enough to force any idea of succumbing out of his mind, they'd broken him before and he  _ couldn't  _ let it happen again. 

He cried out as the whip cracked down on his back again. 

When he'd said  _ no _ , when he'd resisted and spat and said things to his captors, they'd quickly responded with violence, with blunt force and blows that had no doubt broken some bones and with the whipping that was coating his back in stinging, disgusting wounds that slicked his skin up with red. He sucked in a shaky, desperate breath. Breathing hurt, but if he missed even one wheezing inhale he felt as if he'd tumble down into unconsciousness and he would  _ not  _ let that happen. They weren't going to break him. Not again. They weren't going to take away his senses, his choice of when he drifted off into darkness. 

A ragged yell left his already ruined throat when the whip cracked again. There was laughter behind him. The whipping stopped for a moment. 

"Come now, slave. Tell us. Who is it that you belong to?" 

Zoro took a deep yet still shallow breath. "Monkey D. Luffy," he rasped through bloodied lips. "I belong to Monkey D. Luffy." It hurt to speak, but he could never stop saying this. He could never be someone who renounced Luffy's name, not if Luffy truly wanted him. 

"Wrong." The whip cracked again. 

Zoro shut his eyes tight and heard himself cry out. 

_ Luffy, Monkey D. Luffy, I belong to Luffy. I belong to the Straw Hat Pirates.  _

Because Luffy was sunlight and sea breeze and freedom and Zoro was never giving that up as long as he lived. He remembered Luffy's face from a few days ago, so far behind the marines' ship but still searching for him. He remembered being close to him, seeing him smile and hearing the way he complimented him, easy and relaxed and like he really did care. And the rest of them… they were just as lovely, as perfect. 

Nami, who he'd hated but learned to understand and love and who had always known when he was having a hard time. Vivi, who was kind and who cared so deeply for her country that he began to as well. Usopp, who was a coward at first but who became a storyteller and a promise of strength and courage. Sanji, who was powerful and impressive and reminded Zoro how to be the same. Chopper, who cared for Zoro and pushed past his fear to stay near him and to ease his pains. 

He didn't want to be without them. Never again. 

Fuck, he needed to get out of here. He couldn't let them do all of the work. This was his failure. His problems. 

He heard himself scream once more. He'd thought his pain tolerance was higher. 

He'd been left alone in that cell on the ship for a long time, perhaps a few days, and no one bothered him. After the agent left him he did not see another face until they were wrenching him up the stairs and off the boat and there was the (somewhat familiar) sight of green and sunlight and bubbles and he was forced along until they reached a building. 

A long, low building that was half-taken over by moss and fungus. A building he'd seen before.

Zoro had seen it and yelled out and renewed his pathetic attempts at struggling, slowed as they already were by his hunger. The place filled him with all-encompassing  _ dread _ , because last time he'd entered, he'd come out broken, and he was  _ not  _ going to be broken again. He had run, but the Liar had stopped him, had beaten him into the ground, not unlike what had happened the first time he'd been brought here. 

They didn't shave his head like before. Instead, the beatings started immediately and between them he was shoved into that tiny room that he remembered from when he was younger. The first time that had happened he'd panicked, slammed against the walls and door and then collapsed and tried to calm his pounding heart. 

The next time he'd been too exhausted for any of that.

They'd been asking him to crawl. He'd refused, every time. Now he was unsure if he could even manage crawling anyways.

He screamed in pain again. He wondered how each lash could keep coming and yet not render him used to it. 

He wanted Luffy. All there was here was pain and the stone under his knees and the bite of the air and the cutting agony of the whip, and Zoro wanted idle chattering and grabby arms that didn't let him go and a warm body that curled around his. Zoro wanted companionship and adventure; his crew's awkward, somewhat jagged edges that slotted into his own broken shards in just the right way, made him feel wanted and useful despite his flaws. 

They were looking for him. They were. He'd seen them, seen their ship, his home, sailing towards him and not away from him. He just needed to stay whole. To fight. To get out and meet them. 

When they untied him he laid in a limp heap of blood and raw, twitching flesh. 

Once he caught his breath, he turned his head and spat back at them. 

One of them pulled back the whip, and another stopped him. "You'll kill him. We need him alive or Charloss will have our heads."

Zoro glared at them and wheezed, then forced out words that made him feel terrified and exhilarated all at once. "Take me back to Charloss and I'll kill him."

Charloss. Not Master. Not Master ever again, because the longer he thought about it, the longer he compared that bastard to his captain, the more certain he was that he knew where he belonged. He wasn't on this earth to carry some fat fuck on his shoulders until he died of exhaustion. He meant what he'd said. If he saw that fucker, he'd end his miserable life. He'd promised himself.

They couldn't beat him for the statement, but they did shove him into that room and promise he wouldn't be feeling that way much longer. 

Liars, all of them. Zoro wouldn't betray Luffy. But fuck. He wasn't going to get out when he was acting this way. He wasn't strong enough. He couldn't be direct like this. 

Time passed, though Zoro had little understanding of it. Perhaps hours, perhaps days. At some point he found it in himself to move again and he knew that if Doctor was here he'd urge him not to, but he needed the reminder that he could still sit up and glare at the door under his own power. Maybe if he continued to wait he'd be able to run. 

He didn't want to wait for his nakama to find him. Somehow, they'd left him before, been tricked into leaving him in some way, and he'd in turn been tricked to believe they  _ wanted  _ to leave. He couldn't let that happen again. He couldn't let his weakness ruin him. He couldn't just depend upon them. This - this was his fight. He couldn't just make them save him. He needed to get out on his own and go home to them, so that they wouldn't get hurt or tire themselves for his sake. He wasn't deserving. He needed to pull his weight. 

There was doubt in him. Worry that they didn't really want him back, that he was placing too much importance on himself. He wondered if he'd really seen what he thought he'd seen, because that day it had been so bright and colorful and freeing and now it was so dark that he couldn't see his surroundings. Maybe he'd been pretending. Maybe he was just desperate.

He shook his head to clear that thought and regretted it because the pounding in his skull at the movement made him want to curl up on the ground and grip at his scalp. He could think about that later. For now, if there was  _ any  _ chance he was wanted, he was going to take it. 

He would be with his Nakama, or he wouldn't be anywhere. 

Zoro didn't want to be helpless and weak. He didn't want to make his nakama do all of the work. He couldn't. They didn't deserve that. He'd find a way out, and he'd meet them and rejoin them, if they truly would take him.

He realized, as he had so long ago, that if he wanted the strength to leave, he'd need to make them think he was broken. He couldn't be as direct as he had been. 

When the door opened he kept his head down, as much as it hurt, and  _ pretended  _ that they'd succeeded.  _ Pretended _ , he reminded himself, when it hurt the worst.

He was too weak to crawl, but he did so anyways. They laughed and belittled him, mocking his resolve from before and calling him pathetic and weak and he wanted to lash out and shut them up but in order to get out he needed to endure and get stronger. 

Maybe he'd imagined the sight of his nakama. Maybe they'd given up on him. How could they want him when he would so easily submit? Was he even pretending? Or was it his nature. 

He always shook that thought away. 

He'd get out of here and find out on his own. He had to. He didn't know how long passed but after a few disgusting meals of something he did not recognize and some time for his wounds to scab over and turn from shooting pain to dull, bearable aches, Zoro felt that he could maybe run. It was time to get the hell out of here, because he didn't know how long this would be the case. 

He stopped his act when one of them asked who he belonged to. He told them the truth. Told them the Pirate King was the only one who could own him. The gratification from saying it once more washed over him. Once again he was bound and whipped, but this time he had a plan. 

He screamed out in pain with the first lash, back barely healed, and waited, terrified and shaking despite his determination. On the second lash, he heard the whip crack back and turned and shoved himself to his feet in one jerky, painful movement. 

He stumbled, but the whip hit his arms and he hissed and cried out when it cut into them and drew blood, but he ignored it to force trembling fingers to close to fists around it. 

The man holding the handle looked shocked, and Zoro spun, letting the whip wrap partially around his body and pulling it from his hands even as he tried to yank it away. 

It took some maneuvering to get the handle into his own still-bound grip. By the time Zoro managed it, the man had recovered and produced a pistol from somewhere. Zoro moved faster than he could pull the trigger, and with a painful heave of his arms and upper body he brought the whip back and cracked it down over the bastard's front. 

The man screamed, and Zoro thought it pathetic how easily he was taken down, how he couldn't even take one of the lashes that he'd been dishing out for days. 

The door to this room was open, and Zoro rushed out. He kept the whip. He'd need it to fight. His exhausted muscles twitched as he ran and tried to down him. 

Others came to stop him but even through the haze of pain he was in he fought and struggled and kicked and flailed the whip around and somehow he wasn't caught as he ran for where he was pretty sure the exit was. 

He hit a dead end. Fuck. He whirled around and there were at least six men crowding into the hallway behind him. His legs trembled at the effort of keeping him up, and he ignored it. He glared straight at them, meeting their eyes even though his own wanted to slip shut and his limbs wanted to crash to the floor in exhaustion.

"Try to stop me." He rasped out, and then charged back towards them, whip at the ready. 

There were definitely a few gunshots, and Zoro heard himself crying out and felt several bullets hit and push him back but what mattered right now was getting the hell out of here and up ahead Zoro saw natural light against the hallway's floor and he picked up his staggering mess of a run to reach where two hallways intersected and he turned to where the light was brightest. 

He still had pursuers, but he wasn't ten anymore, and he wouldn't let them stop him in the doorway like they had so long ago. He shoved it open and he sprinted off away from the building. He needed to get clear of it. He needed to hide somehow, get away, something. So he could find his nakama. 

His pursuers were more able-bodied than him. He ignored the pain in his lungs and his legs and he heard a crash and a yell somewhere ahead of him. 

A yell. A yell in Luffy's voice.

Zoro picked up his speed. Luffy was - Luffy was nearby. The large roots of the trees were blocking his vision of where he knew his captain must be. There were some broken-down buildings to weave around and he shoved past a few people in his hurry. 

Someone tackled him and he slammed to the wet grass. He sucked in a deep breath and, with frayed vocal cords, he screamed. "LUFFY!!!" 

The men on him were trying to pull him away. He writhed and tried to swing the whip he'd stolen, but to no avail. It was wrenched from his hands. 

More shouts, and then when he looked up a figure was streaking down the street towards him. There was yelling, getting closer. "ZORO!!" Someone screamed. 

Doctor. Chopper. 

"ZORO, DUCK!" the reindeer yelled, and Zoro stopped his struggling and dropped flat against the ground as Chopper slammed his antlers into his assailant. 

He saw Usopp run into view and couldn't help the way his face lit up despite his pain and ragged breathing.

Usopp skidded to a halt standing over him and took a stance, and as he fired off some kind of explosive towards Zoro's pursuers, Zoro pushed up to his knees and then stood. He could still fight. 

"Oi, Zoro, you can stay down, we got you," Usopp tried, but Zoro shook his head. He was strong. Warmth spread throughout him at the concern in his friend's voice despite that. Usopp cared for him. The thought made him hesitate a moment while Usopp and Chopper yelled and fought around him. Fought  _ for _ him.  _ For Zoro _ .

Past the buildings and the roots he heard Luffy yell out again, heard another crash. Zoro wobbled on his feet, trying to catch himself enough to go to his captain. Luffy was fighting, he must be. Fighting because of Zoro, and Zoro couldn't make him do all of the work. 

His pursuers were soon disposed of, and then Chopper was in a much smaller form and was hugging his leg tightly and crying while Usopp took a knife to his bonds. He rubbed at the tender skin under them, savoring the feeling of the reindeer's little arms around him and then savoring Usopp's embrace, when it came half a moment later. Or, rather, feeling desperate for both embraces. He grappled at Usopp's back, making absolutely sure it was real, that  _ this  _ was real. 

"Z-zoro," Usopp whispered. "We were so worried, Zoro."

There was somewhere he needed to be, though. He couldn't fall and pass out in their arms just yet, though he wanted to. "I need to go to Luffy." He murmured, voice level, meeting Chopper's eyes and then Usopp's.

"But Zoro! You're wounded! We need- we need to get you to Merry is what we need to do!" Chopper disagreed, but Zoro shook his head. 

"No. I'm going to Captain, I. I have to." He had to fight. 

Chopper opened his mouth to say something and Zoro tried to make him understand with his eyes. He wanted to just pick him up and never let go, but he needed to see Luffy. Needed to help him fight. It was  _ his  _ battle that his captain was fighting. 

Long-nose spoke first. "Chopper… he's not gonna listen."

Chopper let go of Zoro's leg, and Zoro took the opportunity to step away from them, towards where his captain had to be fighting the Liar. He nodded his thanks to Usopp, and then he took off running. Or, he tried. He tripped on an injured leg and braced for impact but it never came because arms were around him again and his own arm was thrown over a shoulder and he saw Usopp next to him now.

"We'll go to Luffy," Usopp murmured. And then there was something supporting him on the other side and when he looked there was Chopper in reindeer form, leaning against him to steady him. 

He tried to carry his own weight, even as the two of them helped him. He didn't want to be a burden. He was strong. He could fight. 

"Zoro. We got you. It's okay," Usopp whispered. They began to walk around the tree root that had obscured Zoro's vision before, and increasingly Zoro leaned into their presence and their warmth. 

He strained to see his captain as they moved and when he finally could the first he saw was him get slammed towards them by an impressive kick. Dust rose, and the Liar approached. Luffy didn't seem to be getting up. No. No, no, Luffy couldn't be injured or killed in a fight that was  _ Zoro's fault _ .

Zoro broke away from Usopp and Chopper to intercept the Liar, fists clenched and teeth bared even with how the running hurt his entire being and how the pounding footsteps put his head in agony. He wasn't going to let Luffy fight his battle, he couldn't. He'd caused enough trouble, and this was - he needed to end it. 

The Liar saw him, and they briefly made eye contact through Zoro's haze of pain. This man had tried to take everything from him, and was now trying to kill  _ Luffy.  _ Zoro needed him gone. He needed to -

Another body slammed into his own and rubbery arms were wrapping round and round him, and then he was hitting the ground alongside his captain, whose skin was red and steaming and who must have moved faster than Zoro could comprehend. Another kick from the Liar swept out where they'd both been just a moment before. When they landed, Zoro looked up at his captain, who was holding him tight and smiling blindingly down at him through the blood that ran down his face. 

"Zoro!" 

Zoro wanted to cry. His arms weakly gripped into Luffy's shirt and he tried to force himself not to open the floodgates because it was not the time. He wanted to break down in his captain's arms, but there was fighting to do and it would do no good right now. 

"L-luffy- I- I c'n fight. M'sorry. Didn't want you to get into it. Lemme-"

"Zoro's fought enough." Luffy said, not even letting him finish. "He should let his nakama take over, okay? We got him."

Zoro blinked at him. 

_ Oh.  _

But he wanted to fight. He tried to open his mouth to speak, but Luffy fixed him with a serious look. One that didn't let him argue. One that said Zoro needed to trust him. Leave himself in his hands. It would be okay. 

_ Okay. _

The Liar was coming at them again and Luffy stood, hauling Zoro up with him and pulling him along. Their surroundings suddenly blurred past them, so fast it left Zoro reeling and forced the world into a colorful, bright mess that he couldn't sort out in his head. He vaguely registered changing hands, vaguely registered Luffy shooting back off to fight, to fight  _ for him _ . 

He hadn't wanted that. But that look on Luffy's face. Somehow Zoro knew Luffy didn't mind his weakness at all. 

He stared as he was moved and lowered to lay on the ground. He didn't think he could stand again if he tried. It was pathetic, but if he thought too hard about it, his head hurt. He dropped it, for now. 

Above him he made out fuzzy shapes. Black and blue and yellow and orange hair. 

"Zoro!" A familiar voice pierced through his muddled mind, and then there were warm, strong arms around him and he forced shaking arms up to wrap around Nami's back and cling to her. 

"Na-" fuck, when did breathing get so difficult? He tried to hold her tighter. He couldn't force any words out.  _ Nami, Nami, Nami, I missed you, stay with me.  _

Her arms didn't leave him and he heard another voice as well. "Zoro," and that was from the blue one,  _ Vivi _ . 

"There you are, Marimo."  _ Sanji _ .

All three of them, here, close and holding him. 

There were footsteps and two figures he recognized as Usopp and Chopper entered his spinning vision, and they joined the others grouped around him and he couldn't move other than to grip shaking fingers into the back of Nami's shirt and try not to cry yet. She pulled back and he missed the contact desperately in his jumbled mind, but then there were hands in his and he could feel them all nearby and it was alright, he guessed. He shut his eyes, the spinning and swimming becoming too much to bear, and he could still hear Luffy fighting.

Shit, Luffy fighting. He needed - he needed to see. Even if he wasn't able to do it himself, he needed to watch. His eyes snapped open. He tried to sit up and a wave of nausea hit him. 

"Luffy," he wheezed. "Gotta see Luffy." 

Without complaint, arms helped him to sit up and he watched even though his eyes wanted to slip shut and his vision made him sick. 

Luffy was winning. Maybe. Zoro couldn't tell, he kept losing them, and every time he did, he felt fear spike inside him. They exchanged blow after blow for what felt like an eternity and at some moments, he'd snap out of some daze and not remember the last few seconds. But then, all of a sudden, Luffy was throwing a flurry of dizzying punches and screaming with the effort and the Liar fell and did not get back up again, and Zoro couldn't calm his heartbeat. 

He was down. Luffy'd taken him down, all on his own, to save Zoro. Zoro couldn't take his eyes off of the prone form at first, but then Luffy was more important. The Liar's body wasn't worth his time. 

Luffy staggered, exhausted, and Zoro vaguely saw him turn, and then he was approaching. Was he? Zoro couldn't be sure. His head wanted him to pass out, but he  _ couldn't _ , not now, not with his captain facing him. 

Luffy dropped to his knees in front of him to get to his level and whoever was propping him up gently pushed him into his arms. 

One of Luffy's hands held the back of Zoro's head, threaded in his hair, and pressed his face into his shoulder, and the other wrapped around his back. It was a little painful and Luffy smelled of sweat and blood but that wasn't important. Zoro raised arms of lead and returned that embrace. One sob left him, and then another, and then he was wailing into Luffy's shoulder. 

"Zoro," Luffy whispered. "You're home, yeah?"

Home.

Yes. Yes.  _ Home _ . With Luffy. With the crew. He nodded just barely, took a deep shaky breath and then continued to weep, digging weak, shaky fingers into his captain's back.

Luffy's arms held him tighter and it hurt his wounds but the arms were real and warm and welcome. 

"Zoro," Luffy whispered. 

"Luffy."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :D   
> I've been waiting for this. 
> 
> Also! I made a twitter account. Idk if anyone's interested, but I guess if you are then say hi or something, idk   
> It's @hhhhunty and I've just got some art, maybe I'll do some stuff for this fic?? Idk  
> Anyways thank you all so much for reading and being patient with me!


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